Will the Houston Rockets with Durant win the 2025 NBA Cup championship?

Recently, the NBA officially announced the game time and grouping situation of the 2025 UAE NBA Cup. The Houston Rockets, supported by Durant, were assigned to the Western Conference Group C this time, and were assigned to the Nuggets, Warriors, Trail Blazers and Spurs. This group of strength is a hindrance than the Nuggets, while the others are relatively better. The most important thing is to win. At the same time, the last champion Milwaukee Bucks were assigned to the Eastern Conference Group C, with the Knicks, Bulls, Heat and Hornets.

1. NBA Cup match time

2025 UAE NBA Cup group stage will be held from October 31 to November 28. The

quarterfinals will start from December 9th to 10th. The

semi-finals will start on December 13. The

Championship will be held in Las Vegas on December 16.

2. East-West-West-West-West-West-West-West-Group A:

1, Russian-Lahoma City Thunder

2, Sacramento Kings

3, Phoenix Suns

4, Utah Jazz

5, Minnesota Timberwolves

B:

1, Los Angeles Lakers

2, Memphis Grizzlies

3, New Orleans Pelicans

4, Dallas Mavericks

5, Los Angeles Clippers

Group C:

1, Houston Rockets

2, Denver Nuggets

3, Golden State Warriors

4, San Antonio Spurs

5, Portland Trail Blazers

The Eastern Group Situation:

1, Cleveland Cavaliers

2, Indiana Pacers

3, Atlanta Hawks

4, Toronto Raptors

5, Washington Wizards

B:

1, Boston Celtics

2, Detroit Pistons

3, Orlando Magic

4, Brooklyn Nets

5, Philadelphia 76ers Group C:

1, New York Knicks

2, Milwaukee Bucks

3, Chicago Bulls

4, Miami Heat

5, Charlotte Hornets

3, Tournament Rules

NBA Cup is divided into two stages: group stage and knockout stage.

(I) Group stage

All 30 teams were randomly divided into six groups, each with five teams in each group based on the regular season record last season. Each team plays four designated group matches on "Tournament Night", i.e., one game against each other team in the group, two home and two away games.

★ (Top-night will only be held in group matches. Group match records will be included in regular season records)

A team will face off with the other four teams in the same group once in the group stage. The team's record after four games determines whether it is eligible to enter the knockout stage. If two or more teams in the same group have uniform results, the rankings will be ranked according to the following rules:

1. Head-on match records in the group stage;

2. Net win points in the group stage;

3. Total scores in the group stage;

4. Regular season record last season;

5. Random draw;

6. Before wild card ranking, first rank in the group.

(II) Eight teams advance to the knockout stage: the best team in six groups and two wild card teams (second in the group with the best record in each division). Teams that advance to the knockout stage compete for prize money and mid-season championship trophy - the NBA Cup. The knockout stage adopts a single-game elimination system, including the quarterfinals, semi-finals and championship games.

The knockout stage will be held by eight teams that have advanced in the group stage to play a single knockout match. The winning team will enter the semifinals at the Neutral Stadium, followed by the championship game.

The first two rounds of the knockout round (quarter and semi-finals) will be counted as regular season games. The championship game will not be considered a regular season game (this game will not be counted as a regular season record, and the performance of teams and players in that game will not be counted as a regular season statistics).

In the east and west, the two teams with the best record in the quarterfinals are home, and the teams with the best record will face wild card teams. If two or more teams tie the record, the ranking between the teams will determine higher seed ownership according to the same rules mentioned above.

23-24 NBA Cup champion was the Los Angeles Lakers

24-25 NBA champion was the Milwaukee Bucks

Who will be this year? Is the Houston Rockets likely to win the championship? Where are the Rockets fans?