INDIANAPOLIS – When the Indiana Pacers take the floor at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Friday night, fans will be in for a shock.
The usual homecourt floor will be gone, replaced with a special one designed specifically for the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament.
The court is based on the Pacers’ new City Edition uniforms, which the team formally unveiled this week. The uniforms include a distinctive “INDY” wordmark along with bolder, brighter versions of the team’s signature blue and gold colors.
The new colors will be impossible to miss on the home floor during Friday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The new NBA Cup features prominently at center court and in the lanes:
City Edition court coming soon
That’s not the only unique court Pacers fans will see during the season.
The team’s City Edition court includes black baselines and lanes with splashes of blue and gold “spray paint” on the sidelines and underneath the baskets.
A revamped Pacers logo, black with gold spray paint, will adorn center court:
In-Season Tournament
The Pacers host the Cavs at 7 p.m. Friday for the NBA’s first In-Season Tournament, which tips off tonight (Nov. 3) and runs through Saturday, Dec. 9.
The league divided its 30 teams into six different five-team pools. The Pacers, assigned to East Group A along with the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons and Philadelphia 76ers, will play each team in their group once, with two games on the road and two games at home.
The team with the best record in each group will advance to the Knockout Rounds, with each conference also sending a “wild card” selection—the team from each conference with the best record during group play that didn’t win its pool.
The Knockout Rounds are single-elimination games in the Quarterfinals (eight teams, Dec. 4-5), Semifinals (four teams, Dec. 7) and Championship (two teams, Dec. 9).
All games in the Knockout Rounds are considered part of the regular season other than the Championship Game. Aside from the Semifinal and Championship rounds, which will be played at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, all In-Season Tournament games will be played on teams’ homecourts.
Teams that don’t make it to the Knockout Rounds will play regular-season games on Dec. 6 and Dec. 8. Times, locations and opponents for those games are currently TBD on the NBA schedule, as it’s all dependent on the results of the group round and subsequent tournament games.
A look at the Pacers’ schedule shows no games scheduled for the week of Dec. 4, when the Quarterfinals are set to start.
The winning team for the In-Season Tournament will hoist the NBA Cup. Players will receive monetary bonuses during the Knockout Rounds, with the amount based on how far the team progresses during the tournament. The NBA will also recognize a tournament MVP and select an All-Tournament Team.
Pacers’ In-Season Tournament Schedule/Knockout Rounds
- Nov. 3, Friday, vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, 7 p.m.
- Nov. 14, Tuesday, at Philadelphia 76ers, 7 p.m.
- Nov. 21, Tuesday, at Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m.
- Nov. 24, Friday, vs. Detroit Pistons, 8 p.m.
- Dec. 4-5, Knockout Round: Quarterfinals
- Dec. 7, Knockout Round: Semifinals
- Dec 9, Knockout Round: Championship
- Dec. 6, 8: Regular-season games for non-tournament teams
