Hornets’ NBA in-season tournament schedule is out. Here’s how Charlotte can get to Vegas

If the Charlotte Hornets plan on faring better than they did in the NBA Emirates Cup a year ago, it’s likely going to take an extraordinary effort.

The NBA unveiled the schedule for the in-season tournament, the annual competition for all 30 teams that’s back with a new name after making its debut in 2023, and the Hornets play their initial two games on the road before finishing up against a pair of teams considered contenders to win the Eastern Conference crown.

The Hornets will begin their East Group A action in Orlando against the Magic on Nov. 12 before heading to New York for a date with Brooklyn on Nov. 19, the league announced Tuesday. Charlotte also hosts the New York Knicks on Nov. 29 at Spectrum Center prior to concluding group play against Philadelphia on Dec. 3.

Like last season’s inaugural in-season tournament, the NBA Cup will be played in two stages: group play for all teams and knockout rounds for eight teams that advance out of the group stage.

The final two teams meet in the championship game on Dec. 17 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Here’s how the tournament works:

HORNETS IN GROUP PLAY

There are a total of six groups — three from the Eastern Conference, three from the Western Conference. In order to determine the composition of each grouping, the NBA divided the 15 teams in each conference into groups of five via a random drawing, based on 2023-24 win-loss records.

The Hornets, along with the remaining 29 teams, have four designated games in group play. These are special tournament nights on the league’s schedule, with games tipping off on Tuesdays and Fridays from Nov. 12-Dec. 3.

They will play one game against each opponent, splitting the quartet of outings between home and road. The Hornets’ composite record in those four matchups determine whether they continue on to knockout action.

Should multiple teams finish tied in a group, the league goes to a tiebreaker scenario. They are, in order: group play head-to-head record; group play point differential; points totaled in group play; 2023-24 regular-season record and a random drawing in the highly-improbable scenario two or more teams are still tied after the other tiebreakers.

In the inaugural tournament a season ago, the Hornets had the worst differential margin, so they’ll need to pick it up quite a bit in that area to even have a chance at advancing to the latter stages.

Should the Hornets fail to make it beyond the group play stage, they’ll be among the 22 teams playing two added regular-season games — one home, one away — sometime on Dec. 12-13 and Dec. 15-16. A formulaic approach is used to pair the teams.

NBA TOURNAMENT KNOCKOUT STAGE

Once group play is complete, the six teams with the best standing in their respective groups earn a spot in the knockout rounds. Two wild card teams — one from each conference that finished with the next best record in group play action — also receive a nod.

Games in this round, considered the quarterfinals, will be single elimination and take place in NBA markets from Dec. 10-11. Winners progress to the semifinals in Las Vegas on Dec. 14 seeking a spot in the championship game three days later.

PRIZES/AWARDS

This year’s prize pool is going to be allocated to players whose teams participated in the Knockout Rounds, and the sum increased depending on the length of a team’s progression in the tournament.

Following the tournament’s completion, an all-tournament team along with a most valuable player will be announced.

HORNETS IN-SEASON TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Nov. 12: at Orlando, 7 p.m.

Nov. 19: at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 29: vs. New York, noon (NBA TV)

Dec. 3: vs. Philadelphia, 7 p.m.