Teams play only about a handful of games in the NBA Cup , so making thorough assessments can be quite difficult. The first two in-season tournament champions, the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks, were both eliminated in the first round of the playoffs following their big victories in Las Vegas . The Atlanta Hawks, who won just 40 games last season, went all the way to the semifinals in the 2024 NBA Cup. Therefore, breaks from the norm are quite common in this tourney, except if you are the Washington Wizards (1-14).

In a competition loaded with plenty of surprises — the Portland Trail Blazers currently lead the “Group of Death” — fans can count on this Eastern Conference squad for some consistency. The Wizards have been arguably the most abysmal franchise in the NBA since the

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