NBA Cup 2026: The Knicks Are 0-1 in Group B, and Here's the Math to Get Out

Here's the deal: the Knicks are 0-1 in East Group B after that 98-93 loss in Philly (https://knicks365.com/blog/knicks-76ers-recap-lebron-late-cup-opener-2-4), and if they want a shot at becoming the first team ever to win back-to-back NBA Cups, they basically need to win their last three group games. Nov. 13 at Indiana, Nov. 25 against Cleveland and Nov. 27 against Miami. That's the whole path, and there isn't much room left for a slip.

I know, it's November, and I'm the same person who keeps telling everyone to relax about a 3-4 start (https://knicks365.com/blog/knicks-bench-check-who-earned-more-minutes). But the Cup is different. It's four games, and one of them is already in the loss column. Last December I watched this team come back from 11 down late in the third quarter and beat the Spurs 124-113 in Las Vegas, with OG dropping 28 and Brunson taking home Cup MVP, per the AP. I want that banner moment again.

How Group B actually works

Every team was drawn into a group of five within its conference, and each one plays four Group Play games, one against each opponent, two at home and two on the road, per NBA.com's Cup rules. The Knicks drew the 76ers, Pacers, Cavaliers and Heat, which we broke down when the schedule dropped (https://knicks365.com/blog/knicks-2026-nba-cup-title-defense-schedule-group-b-matchups). That's a loaded group, and NBA.com points out it's a group full of history: the Pacers beat us in the 2025 East finals, and we swept Cleveland in the 2026 East finals on the way to the title.

Eight teams move on to the knockout rounds: the six group winners plus one wild card per conference, which goes to the second-place team with the best Group Play record. If teams are tied inside a group, the first tiebreaker is head-to-head, then point differential in Group Play, then total points, then last season's record, per NBA.com. Overtime points don't count toward the differential.

That head-to-head piece is what stings. Philly owns the tiebreaker over us now, so in a straight two-team tie at the top, the Sixers win the group. And the AP noted after Miami's opener that every team to reach the Cup knockouts so far has gone either 4-0 or 3-1 in Group Play. At 0-1, the Knicks' best possible finish is 3-1. Any second loss and I think we're done.

Where the standings sit right now

After opening night, Miami and Philadelphia are both 1-0, per NBA.com's Cup standings. The Heat crushed a short-handed Indiana team 145-125 on Oct. 30 behind a Giannis Antetokounmpo triple-double (31 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists), per the AP. The Knicks and Pacers are 0-1, with the Knicks at minus-5 in point differential and Indiana at minus-20, and Cleveland hasn't played a Cup game yet.

Here's what's left, with times in ET and CT, per NBA.com and the Cup schedule:

• Friday, Nov. 13: Knicks at Pacers, 7:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. CT), Prime Video
• Wednesday, Nov. 25: Cavaliers at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. CT), League Pass and local TV
• Friday, Nov. 27: Heat at Knicks, 7:00 p.m. ET (6:00 p.m. CT), Prime Video

I actually like this back half. Two of the three are at the Garden. Indiana is banged up, with Tyrese Haliburton out at least a couple of weeks with a hamstring strain as of Oct. 30, per the AP. The Cavs game is the one I'd circle, because Cleveland remembers that sweep. And the finale against Giannis and Bam is a playoff-style game on Black Friday.

My lens hasn't changed: balance paint scoring and threes, keep Cat at the five as a five-out weapon, and get Mikal and OG on the wings together. The Philly loss was a reminder that when the shots don't fall late, size and physicality decide these games. Against Giannis and Bam on Nov. 27, we're going to need every inch of it.

The other thing to watch is margin. If it comes down to a wild card, it's point differential first, since head-to-head doesn't apply, per NBA.com. So when the Knicks are up 15 on the Pacers late, I want them stepping on the gas. That minus-5 from Philly could matter.

If they get out, the quarterfinals are Dec. 4-5 and the semis Dec. 8-9 in team markets, at the higher seed's arena, with the championship on Dec. 11 at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, per NBA.com. It's the first time the final leaves Las Vegas. Teams that miss the knockouts play two extra regular-season games instead, per NBC Sports Philadelphia, so nothing is wasted. But I didn't spend last December yelling at my TV to watch someone else lift that trophy. Win three straight, and let's go to Indy.