The Thunder and Bucks will face off in the final matchup for the second annual NBA Cup.
Each of these teams has championship aspirations for June, so playing in this Cup Final game on Tuesday will serve as a solid litmus test to gauge exactly where each team is at this point in the season.
WHAT A MATCHUP: The Cup Final between the Bucks and Thunder has everything a true NBA fan could want
However, this game has a bit of a caveat regarding what it could potentially mean for the rest of the season.
So far, each NBA Cup game from the group stage to the semifinals has counted toward each team’s regular season record. Not this one.
The NBA Cup Final game does NOT count toward the Bucks’ or Thunder’s regular-season record.
The reason is simple: If it did, this would be the 83rd game on Milwaukee and Oklahoma City’s schedule. Every other team plays an 82-game schedule. This would give one of these teams an unfair advantage or disadvantage over the rest of the season for tiebreakers when it’s time to decide playoff matchups.
The NBA excluded this game or its stats in its regular-season record book to keep things simple.
The championship and prize money still remain. Whoever wins will still be the winner of the NBA Cup for this season. It just doesn’t matter when it comes to regular season records or stats.
That’s OK. Let’s just hope someone doesn’t drop a 100-point triple-double in this one that technically doesn’t count for anything.
