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NBA Cup enthusiasts, we have nine games on the slate Friday night. It’s a bit early for standings-watching to see which eight teams (six group winners and two wild cards) will advance to the quarterfinals next month, but some games still have clear implications for their groups.

• It’s a big night in Eastern Conference Group B. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat both won their NBA Cup openers by huge margins, so the winner of Friday’s game in Miami will take control of Group B with a 2-0 record and the tiebreak against the other. Meanwhile, the New York Knicks-Indiana Pacers matchup will essentially be an elimination game; both teams are 0-1, and no team has advanced to the Cup quarterfinals with two losses. Could the defending Cup and league champs really be knocked out of the mix this early?

• Those two outcomes set up a likely matchup later this month for wild-card positioning between the loser of Cavs-Heat and the winner of Pacers-Knicks, although the Philadelphia 76ers, who are off tonight, are also in the mix.

• The only other games in the East are Orlando Magic-Milwaukee Bucks in Group A and Atlanta Hawks-Chicago Bulls in Group C. Orlando and Atlanta will be heavy favorites to go 2-0, while the Bucks and Bulls — a combined 2-20 on the season — are already 0-1 in Cup play and will be toast with another loss.

• In the Western Conference, the highlight of the schedule is the Golden State Warriors-San Antonio Spurs game in Group C. The winner will take control of the group as its only unbeaten team at 2-0; that’s particularly true if the Warriors win, given that they still have the Sacramento Kings left on the schedule. The Spurs, who made the Cup final a year ago, have an iffy pathway to a wild card if they lose, needing to beat both the Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers and do it impressively enough to out-margin other wild-card hopefuls at 3-1.

• In Group B, the Oklahoma City Thunder will look to keep running up the score against the LA Clippers after a 31-point win over the Memphis Grizzlies in their Cup opener. The Clippers must win to stay alive after dropping the opener, while Oklahoma City has to keep up in Group B with a 2-0 Minnesota Timberwolves team that is off tonight.

• The other three West games are all elimination battles between teams that started the Cup 0-1. In Group A, it’s Houston Rockets-Utah Jazz; in Group B, it’s Memphis Grizzlies-New Orleans Pelicans; and in Group C, it’s Blazers-Kings. Memphis, on the wrong end of that 31-point margin in its opener, has some work to do on the scoreboard even if it wins.

NBA Cup standings

East Group A

• Detroit Pistons, 1-0 (plus-16 point differential)
• Magic, 1-0 (plus-7)
• Toronto Raptors, 1-1 (plus-7)
• Bucks, 0-1 (minus-14)
• Brooklyn Nets, 0-1 (minus-16)

East Group B

• Cavaliers, 1-0 (plus-24)
• Heat, 1-0 (plus-20)
• Sixers, 1-1 (minus-19)
• Knicks, 0-1 (minus-5)
• Pacers, 0-1 (minus-20)

East Group C

• Boston Celtics, 2-0 (plus-53)
• Hawks, 1-0 (plus-7)
• Washington Wizards, 1-1 (plus-9)
• Bulls, 0-1 (minus-14)
• Charlotte Hornets, 0-2 (minus-55)

West Group A

• Dallas Mavericks, 2-0 (plus-17)
• Denver Nuggets, 1-0 (plus-7)
• Rockets, 0-1 (minus-5)
• Phoenix Suns, 0-1 (minus-7)
• Jazz, 0-1 (minus-12)

West Group B

• Timberwolves, 2-0 (plus-32)
• Thunder, 1-0 (plus-31)
• Pelicans, 0-1 (minus-6)
• Clippers, 0-1 (minus-26)
• Grizzlies, 0-1 (minus-31)

West Group C

• Warriors, 1-0 (plus-17)
• Spurs, 1-0 (plus-15)
• Lakers, 1-1 (minus-11)
• Trail Blazers, 0-1 (minus-6)
• Kings, 0-1 (minus-15)

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