（原文发表于12月4日，作者为The Athletic网站的快船队记Law Murray，文章内容不代表译者观点）
随着小组赛最后一晚充满戏剧性的比赛结束，NBA杯淘汰赛阶段的赛程已准备就绪。晋级四分之一决赛的八支球队包括魔术、雄鹿、老鹰、尼克斯、独行侠、雷霆、勇士和火箭。这些球队将进行激烈对抗，其中胜出的四队将前往拉斯维加斯参加半决赛，而败北的则将在12月15日或16日再战，这场较量同样计入常规赛积分榜。
在拉斯维加斯举行的两场半决赛获胜者，将于12月18日争夺NBA杯冠军。尽管这场决斗不会影响常规赛事成绩，但赢得比赛后，每位球员都能获得超过50万美元奖金，并享有整年的炫耀权。
取得优异表现并不意味着这些球队会在明年春天大展拳脚。例如去年湖人成功击败步行者拿下首届季中锦标，同时雄鹿和鹈鹕也闯进了拉斯维加斯。然而，这几支团队虽然均进入2024年季后赛，却只有步行者最终赢得至少一轮系列賽，而其他如雄鹿与湖人甚至更换了主教练。因此，在这个舞台上享受竞争乐趣显得尤为重要！
The Athletic网站快船队记者Law Murray分析了NBA杯八强之间实力对比，并预测接下来赛事走向：
魔术VS雄鹿（12月11日）
本赛季双方是否有过交手？
This will be the first matchup between these two teams this season, with two more games scheduled for Orlando at Milwaukee later in the year. Last season, they split their regular-season meetings.
双方在季后赛中有过交手吗？
The Magic and Bucks have met twice in postseason history, both times ending with the Bucks eliminating the Magic in Round One. They faced off during the NBA's restart bubble back in 2020 as well as playoffs from 2001 when current Bucks coach Rivers was still coaching Orlando.
魔术进攻时……
The Magic rank among league’s bottom ten offensively while facing a much-improved defense on behalf of Milwaukee who has won nine out of its last ten contests. Only five other teams boast higher three-point percentages than that which belongs to those residing within Wisconsin; meanwhile Orlando ranks second-to-last only ahead of Washington thus far into campaign play.
雄鹿进攻时……
Bucks’ offense is ranked top-ten overall but faces tough competition against Eastern Conference leaders known for defensive prowess displayed by none other than our friends down south—the Miami Heat! In fact no team limits opponents attempts better than them either—plus there exists significant disparity concerning offensive rebounds whereupon one must inquire if any advantage lies therein?
谁会赢： P With both squads entering hot streaks yet needing to overcome early-season struggles along respective journeys towards success… home court favors Milwaukee here due largely because they’re also uniquely positioned being sole survivors from previous round advancing all way through Vegas.(Prediction: Buck advances). ### 独行侠VS雷霆（12月11日） #### 本季度双方便曾相遇？ 是。在过去一个月份里，于俄克拉荷马城Paycom中心展开了一番角逐；结果以121-119告终，由独行侠笑到最后。而PJ·华盛顿正是在此役功不可没。此外，本次重逢必然不同，因为东契奇及哈尔滕施泰因此前因伤缺席，如今二人皆回归。 #### 双方历史交锋情况如何？ 自从“搬迁”至俄克拉荷马以来，两军共聚三度，当中的关键便属2011西部总决选，即当初由达成其史无前例之荣耀——那一年他们捧起属于自己的第一座奖盃！ --- (继续处理剩余部分...)
