NBA In-Season Tournament: Golden State Has Edge in Friday Night Matchup Against OKC
One of the unique things about the 2023-24 campaign is the introduction of the NBA In-Season Tournament. This is set to tip off this evening as all 30 teams were randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference based on win-loss records from the 2022-23 regular season. For the group stage, competition will take place every Tuesday and Friday from Nov. 3 until Nov. 28 as each team plays two home and two road games in effort to advance.
For the Oklahoma City Thunder, a tough group means a difficult road ahead. They were drawn into a group featuring the San Antonio Spurs, Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings.
The first contest for OKC will take place at Paycom Center on Friday night against Golden State, but the Thunder will be without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. As such, this means that Oklahoma City’s road has become even more challenging, while the Warriors — who should be the favorites to come out of the group — should have a much easier night against OKC. Entering the day, Golden State was a two-point favorite in this contest.
Regardless, never count out any team in the NBA. This is a new concept and there’s real excitement about it. There’s also stakes, as the winning team takes home the NBA Cup and its players earn $500,000 each.
The Thunder will host the Warriors at 7:00 p.m. CT on Friday night, in one of the first games of the first ever NBA In-Season Tournament.
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