The Chicago Bulls are not playing on Tuesday night, but they are one of the teams that could potentially face elimination despite only having played two of their four group play games.
The Bulls lost their first two games of the tournament against the Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic, and currently sit at the bottom of the standings in Group C in the Eastern Conference. They are one of four teams in the Eastern Conference that has not yet won a tournament game.
They still have two games remaining, against the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors, but those games could take place after an elimination if a trio of results occur, according to the NBA.
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According to NBA PR, the Bulls and Raptors would both be eliminated from the tournament if these results occur Tuesday:
-The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers.
-The Indiana Pacers beat the Atlanta Hawks.
-The Magic beat the Raptors.
NBA
In addition, the Pacers would clinch a spot in the knockout round if they defeat the Hawks, according to the league.
The Bulls’ final two tournament games will take place on Friday when they travel to Toronto to take on the Raptors, and then on Tuesday when they face the Celtics in Boston.
Under rules of the In-Season Tournament, eight teams advance to the knockout round. The winner of each of the six groups advances, as does the best second place team in each conference.
Knockout round games would take place Dec. 4 and 5, with the semifinals and final taking place Dec. 5 and 7 in Las Vegas.
All games count toward teams’ 82-game schedules, and all games but the championship game will be counted in the league’s standings.
In the event of ties in the standings, a series of tiebreakers will be used, starting with head-to-head record in the tournament. Point differential then comes into play, followed by total points scored.