Does the NBA Cup need star power or does Las Vegas sell itself?
The NBA In-Season Tournament semifinals and final debuted last season in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The league caught a major break last season when the Lakers made the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament semifinals and then won the title.
Las Vegas is a Lakers town and the city is a four-hour drive from Los Angeles, so T-Mobile Arena was sold out for what was essentially a home game when the LeBron James-led Lakers cruised past the upstart Indiana Pacers 123-109.
The first season of Commissioner Adam Silver's great experiment couldn't have gone much smoother for the league, which is back with the renamed NBA Cup. But the Lakers won't be back, and also missing is what would have been another major draw. Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors came up just short of making the semifinals a controversial one-point loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
That doesn't mean there won't be star power in Saturday's semifinals. Former two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and this season's second-best bet in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be the featured names.
