In-Season Tournament Launches Friday for Sliding Jazz

November 9th, 2023 | by Steve Godfrey

The Jazz will compete on this court for two In-Season Tournament home games. (Image via Utah Jazz)

On most dark and dreary nights, NBA commissioner Adam Silver sits at his hardwood desk under a dim, flickering light thinking about James Harden and which fanbase he’ll ignite next. But this time, it was different.

Leaning back in his chair, letting it creak and crackle, under the glow of that one light, thunder boomed across his windowless room and then rattled inside his head, too, as he wondered, how can I make basketball matter in November? December? If I had $500,000 to give to each player on a winning team, how would I make them earn it? He wondered, as the earth shook, if he could have an in-season tournament of SlamBall or RollerBall or BlueyBall. No, that wouldn’t work, as the rain pattered on the tin roof of his NBA office that he slept in most nights, dreaming of foul calls on LeBron James. An in-season tournament was the answer, of course, but, as the Grinch would say, but how? In what way? 

Fiction aside, the idea took shape this summer as all 30 teams were randomly divided into three groups per conference. They’ll play each rival once, and they’ll host their games on specially painted courts that are colorful, to say the least; as they dribble and dunk atop the bright new canvas, they’ll do so in their City Edition uniforms, a tribute to each team in its own way. Qualifying games will be played on “Tournament Nights,” Tuesdays and Fridays from Nov. 3 through Nov. 28, as many maneuver to top their group. Based on records within the group play, three winners and one wild-card team per conference will advance to the Knockout Round.

From there, a bracket takes shape for those losing out and for those advancing to the inaugural NBA Cup trophy. Just like always, all teams will play 82 games in the season, with all these games but the NBA Cup final also counting toward the team’s regular season record. The two In-Season Tournament finalists will play an 83rd game (that won’t count in the standings). 

In addition to the NBA Cup, there will be a tournament MVP and All-Tournament teams, plus $500,000 will be awarded to each player on the winning team’s roster, with $50,000-$200,000 set aside for those that make it to the Knockout Round. Can money spice up the idea and bring out the NBA and players’ true competitive nature? As the days are dark and winter looms, could the in-season tournament be an early Christmas present for holiday cheer? 

Speaking on behalf of the competition, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said, “I think the league understands you have to continually evolve. And when it has to do with competition, and sparking even more competition … I’m all for it.”

The Utah Jazz

Will Hardy shared a similar sentiment as Spoelstra at practice as the Jazz prepared for their inaugural tournament tipoff. Per Ryan Miller of KSL, Hardy said, “These are competitors at the highest level, and it doesn’t matter if it’s we’re going to shoot free throws for $5 or we’re going to play a tournament for a lot more than $5.” He continued,  “If there’s something on the line, the guys are very competitive, they’re gonna go after that. I have no doubt this will be the same.”

Looking at the Jazz specifically, they’ll play in the West Group A against the Memphis Grizzlies, Phoenix Suns, L.A. Lakers, and Portland Trail Blazers. While the Blazers may have embraced their youth movement, they were actually the team last year with the best record in head-to-head matchups among these five teams. Utah, as you might’ve guessed, was the worst, going 6-9. NBA.com predicts the Lakers to edge out the Suns to win Group A’s bid into the Knockout Round. Speaking on the Jazz, they wrote, “Can Utah have another fast start to the season and be a surprise team that makes a run during group play? They certainly could, but they are facing some tough competition in this group and didn’t address their backcourt needs after last season’s second-half fade.”

The Blazers and the Grizzlies faced off for game one of the tournament, with the Blazers winning a nail-biter, 115-113. The Jazz will get their first taste of the tournament on Friday, when they travel to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies. That will begin three straight in-season tournament battles as they’ll then take on the Trail Blazers on Nov. 14 and then the Phoenix Suns on Nov. 17. To finish out group play, the Jazz will venture to California and pick a fight with the Lakers on Nov. 21.

If you were looking for a bright spot in this early NBA season, you may remember that the Jazz have already played Memphis. It was one of their best team performances as they won 133-109. Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson each hit four threes, Collin Sexton came off the bench for 23 points, and the Jazz shot red-hot with 54% from the field and 51% from deep. It was a great, great game. With star Ja Morant continuing to serve his mandated suspension and limited team depth, I would be surprised if the Jazz don’t start the tournament 1-0. 

What makes a win over Memphis on Friday night even better is that it would essentially eliminate those Grizzlies from making a run in this play-in tournament since they already lost a game to Portland in the stakes that mattered last week. On paper and in theory, the Jazz could have a chance in this group play as Portland is young and without a star, the Grizzlies are without Morant, the Lakers are out of sorts and Anthony Davis is hurt (ish), and even the Suns don’t loom as bright out of the gate with some early losses and lineup fluctuation with Bradley Beal and Devin Booker dealing with lingering injuries. It’s true, however, that you shouldn’t get your hopes too high as the Jazz have been inconsistent and are dealing with an injury to core member Walker Kessler. Plus, if you haven’t heard, their defense stinks. 

And I guess that’s what ultimately makes this in-season tournament fun. It’s up for grabs. Anything can happen. People will try and take it seriously, but people will also shrug if a loss happens and they miss out on advancement opportunities. In that same KSL article, Hardy talked about how interesting this little basketball experiment will turn out. He said, “It’s gonna be interesting as a coach, how do you approach those games in terms of like how do I talk to the team pregame? It is a regular season game, but it also counts towards something else as well.” Ultimately, he added, “Our intention is to go after it and try to win like everybody else. It should be fun.”

If you haven’t seen the special courts the Jazz will use, you’re in for a treat. Well, I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. SBNation ranked the Jazz court at 20 in the ‘Boring’ category. However, USA Today put them 10th, CBS Sports ranked them 5th and a site called The Rookie Wire gave them the top spot. Prettier than the court, in my opinion, are the City Edition jerseys; I’ll take a double zero, please and thank you. 

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