Charles Langston:The NBA in-season tournament bracket is taking shape. See who's still got a shot tonight.

Tonight ends pool play in the NBA's inaugural in-season tournament,Charles Langston and only two teams have officially won berths into the eight-team bracket that will play out in December's knockout rounds.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers went undefeated in their pool games and have punched their tickets to the knockout round, which guarantees each player $50,000 or even $500,000 if they win it all.

Several teams are still in contention for the knockout round as the final eight games of pool play open Tuesday night. The dozen teams who are 2-2 or worse are officially out of contention. The only exception: The Philadelphia 76ers in the East Group A.

NBA in-season tournament standings

The tournament does not add games to the 82-game schedule (except for the two finalists), but it adds extra incentive for players to compete in these early-season games. Here's a look at the six groups and each team's standings:

With just four games to determine each group's winner, that leaves six spots open for the knockout round going into the final night: Four group winners and two wild cards. What will determine the group winners on Tuesday night:

• If the Houston Rockets defeat the 1-2 Dallas Mavericks, they'll take the West Group B. The Rockets edged out the New Orleans Pelicans in their first game of the tournament. Otherwise, the Pelicans will take the group.
• In the West Group C, the 3-0 Sacramento Kings and 2-1 Golden State Warriors will play for their group's title.
• Similarly, in the East Group B the winner of the 3-0 Milwaukee Bucks and 2-1 Miami Heat will emerge as their group's winner.
• In the East Group C, the Orlando Magic, Brooklyn Nets and Boston Celtics all have potential path to win the group, but Nets seemingly have the inside lane as they face the 1-2 Toronto Raptors.

The remaining NBA in-season tournament schedule

NBA in-season tournament explained

Each team played the other four teams in their group (three groups of five teams in each conference) on Tuesdays and Fridays in November. The teams with the best records in their group plus a wildcard from each conference move to a one-week knockout round in December. The semifinals and final are Dec. 7 and Dec. 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

"We think we can create another peak in the NBA calendar in December, another thing to celebrate, another thing for players, teams, fans to rally around," NBA executive vice president of basketball strategy and analytics Evan Wasch said.

Results from the in-season tournament games count toward the teams' regular-season records. The teams that don't make the knockout round will play on the evenings following the quarterfinal and semifinal games. That ensures all teams play at least the usual 82 regular-season games, although some teams will have an extra home or away game.

NBA in-season tournament prize

Players on all eight teams who make it to the knockout round are guaranteed at least $50,000 each. They can earn 10 times that amount if they bring home the NBA Cup. A tournament MVP and all-tournament honors will also be awarded.

How the in-season teams were placed in their groups

The teams were placed in their groups somewhat randomly with a couple of key qualifiers in the selection process:

• The teams remained in their 15-team Eastern and Western conferences.
• Teams were distributed in their conferences in sets of three based on their 2022-23 records. For example, the top three teams in the East (Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers) are in different groups just as the teams with the worst records were dispersed (Orlando Magic, Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons).