INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers nearly made history last season in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament.
The Pacers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the championship game after running through the Eastern Conference side of the bracket.
This year's tournament, slightly rebranded as the NBA Cup, tips off Friday, Nov. 15 when Indiana hosts the Miami Heat at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
How does the NBA Cup work?
Despite the name change, the format for this year's tournament remains the same as a year ago.
The league's 30 teams were divided into six five-team pods, with three pods in each conference. The groups were determined with a random draw based on last season's records.
Indiana's pod includes the Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors.
Teams will play each of the four other teams in their pod once, for a total of two home games and two games on the road. In addition to the NBA Cup standings, the group play games count as regular season games.
Indiana Pacers NBA Cup schedule
- Friday, Nov. 15 vs. Miami
- Friday, Nov. 22 at Milwaukee
- Friday, Nov. 29 vs. Detroit
- Tuesday, Dec. 3 at Toronto
Knockout rounds
The six teams that finish with the best record in each group will advance to the quarterfinals of the NBA Cup, along with two "wild card" teams — the non-group winner with the best group play record in each conference.
Those eight teams will be seeded in a bracket, divided by conference, with the higher seeded teams hosting the game in their home arena on either Dec. 10 or 11.
The four quarterfinal winners will square off in Las Vegas in the semifinals on Dec. 14, with the winners meeting in the championship game on Dec. 17. The quarterfinal and semifinal games will also count toward the regular season standings, though the NBA Cup championship game will not.
To make up the difference in games, teams that don't qualify for the quarterfinals will play two games against other non-qualifiers on Dec. 12 or 13 and Dec. 15 or 16. The teams that lose in the quarterfinals will play one regular season game during those dates.
Special court revealed
The playing surface in each NBA arena will have a special look during the NBA Cup.
The NBA designed alternate courts for each of the 30 teams to use during the tournament games.
The courts feature a bold design in each team's color scheme, with the home team's logo at center court, with an image of the NBA Cup trophy behind the logo and inside each free throw lane.
The Pacers' court is dark blue with the late Slick Leonard's catchphrase, "Boom Baby!" in large letters across the floor. The sidelines and baselines are gold.