As we approach the championship game of the third annual NBA Cup tonight and take stock of its impact on the regular season, I want to make one thing clear: the tournament has been good for the NBA.

From the perspective of a hoops fan who only wants to see competitive games, it’s only made the early part of the season better. With a prize of over $500,000 for each winning player — and pride on the line — the stakes are enough that players take it seriously. No more complaining about games not mattering. As long as the season is an 82-game marathon, the tournament is a plus.

That said, the NBA Cup isn’t perfect. One change already confirmed for next season is the semifinals being moved out of Vegas, and ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported the championship game could follow. It makes sense considering those games aren’t selling the way Cup games do in NBA markets. Not to mention, higher seeds absolutely should receive the benefit of a home crowd in those bigger games, which only adds to the playoff-like atmosphere.

However, that change threatens to take away from what’s been the biggest defining feature of the tournament through three years: it’s unpredictability. And that’s not necessarily a good thing.

The winners of this tournament the first two years haven’t been some juggernauts destined for NBA Finals glory. They were the Lakers in 2023 and Bucks in 2024 — teams that got bounced in the first round of the playoffs. The Celtics lost in the NBA Cup quarterfinals the same year they won the NBA Finals. The Thunder lost in the NBA Cup championship game last year before going on their title run. Favored to win it all again this year and tied for the best 25-game start in NBA history, the Thunder were bounced in the semifinals.

Do the Thunder win those games if they’re played in OKC rather than Vegas? The chances would have been greater. But is that what we want — a mid-season tournament potentially more predictive of what to expect later in the year? Or is it better as a March Madness-style tournament where chaos rules? If you ask me, the league should go for a little of both. Move the semifinals out of Vegas, leave the championship. A little unpredictability adds to the fun of it all.

Ime Udoka was big mad

The Houston Rockets lost a Western Conference heavyweight bout to the Denver Nuggets on Monday night after Amen Thompson was called for a foul on an inbound play with 2.3 seconds left that allowed Denver to tie the game on a free throw.

After the game, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka called it the “most poorly officiated game I’ve seen in a long time.” He was heated.

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen an NBA coach lay into the officials like that, but it’s hard to say I blame Udoka. Take a look at the play yourself and tell me that’s not an egregious call.

Quick hits: Wemby might hate OKC … Diego Pavia is short … and more

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