Golden State Warriors receive nightmare draw in cut-throat NBA Cup group
The Golden State Warriors have drawn an incredibly tough group for the second iteration of the NBA's In-Season Tournament (or as it is now known -- the Emirates NBA Cup).
Coming off a 10th place finish in the Western Conference last season, the Warriors have been drawn in West Group C alongside the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans and Memphis Grizzlies.
The Golden State Warriors will face a tough task of getting to the NBA Cup quarter-finals after missing out in its inaugural event last year
The Warriors will have to play the last two Western Conference champions in the Nuggets and Mavericks, with the latter to include a blockbuster matchup against beloved franchise legend Klay Thompson who has departed for Dallas this offseason.
They'll also have to face a Pelicans team who, following a first-round playoff exit this year, has moved to upgrade their roster with the addition of former All-Star Dejounte Murray in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks.
Group Play games in the Emirates NBA Cup 2024 will take place on Tuesdays and Fridays from Nov. 12 – Dec. 3. Each team will play one game against each of the four opponents in its group.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) July 12, 2024
The game and broadcast schedules for Group Play will be announced next month. The Group Play… pic.twitter.com/BVxrZTcoqC
The Grizzlies round out the group as the West's 13th-ranked team last season, but they're expected to take a massive jump up the standings with greater availability and their full complement of stars headlined by Ja Morant.
The other two groups in the West each feature a pair of teams that finished in the bottom five of the conference last season. The Minnesota Timberwolves appear the strongest contender in Group A alongside the LA Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Portland Trail Blazers, while the Oklahoma City Thunder, Phoenix Suns and LA Lakers are likely to battle it out in a Group B that also features the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs.
Golden State finished third in West Group C last year, failing to reach the quarter-finals in a tournament that eventually saw the Lakers defeat the Indiana Pacers in the final. The Warriors finished with a 2-2 record in 2023 with wins over the Thunder and Spurs, but blew a 24-point lead against the Kings that saw them eliminated from the competition.
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