A lot of sports bettors absolutely hate the summer because of the limited amount of sports to bet on. In the summer, the only consistent sport is baseball.
Because of this, people are gravitating toward the NBA Summer League. The Summer League isn’t pre-season or anything. It’s more of a developmental league that allows players to stand out in their quest of signing on the dotted line for the season.
With that said, you will see a ton of selfish basketball. But the teams that play together most will end up with a Summer League ring. Let’s break some games down.
(Odds courtesy DraftKings)
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Philadelphia 76ers vs. Brooklyn Nets
This matchup is entertaining regardless of who is on the floor. The Nets and 76ers traded superstars at the deadline last year between Ben Simmons and James Harden. I wonder who will be courtside in this game.
This summer, the Nets are led by Cam Thomas, who is a pure scorer. He added 31 points in the Nets’ loss to the Bucks a couple of days ago on 11-of-23 from the floor. David Duke Jr. also scored 22 to help lead the Nets. The good news is that those two have played with each other before and have some chemistry along with Kessler Edwards and Day’Ron Sharpe, for example.
The Nets have a great starting five but then drop off with talent when it comes to the bench. Other than Thomas and Duke Jr., the Nets didn’t have another player reach 10 points.
Meanwhile, the 76ers just lost by 20 to the Toronto Raptors in their first game of the Summer League in Las Vegas. The 76ers have played other games but still aren’t getting used to one another. Isaiah Joe has led them in points and scored 24 in the loss. The team has plenty of college studs but they’re playing a bit too selfish. I’ll take the Nets at -125.
Bet: Nets (-125 at DraftKings)
New York Knicks vs. Chicago Bulls
The Knicks looked really good in their opening game against the Warriors. New York was led by Quentin Grimes, Jericho Sims, and Miles McBride, who are all second-year players familiar with one another. Grimes ended up scoring 24 points with eight assists and four rebounds in the win and had a +17.
Sims had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Knicks while McBride added 14 points. Meanwhile, rookie Trevor Keels got in on some action while Feron Hunt played extremely well for the Knicks. There’s so much young talent on this roster.
On the other hand, the Bulls saw an outstanding effort from Marko Simonovic in their win over the Mavericks to start Summer League. He scored 27 points with 13 rebounds while guard Malcolm Hill added 18 points. The Bulls started first-round picks Dalen Terry and he added nine points with six assists and five rebounds.
I’m expecting plenty of points between these two teams and will be taking the over.
Bet: Over 176.5 (-110 at DraftKings)
Charlotte Hornets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
The Los Angeles Lakers were routed in their first game of the Las Vegas Summer League. It’s no question that Scotty Pippen Jr. is the team’s best scorer, but after that, there’s a drop-off. Max Christie was a good selection for the Lakers and he’ll get better as the Summer League progresses. Other than that, the Lakers don’t have much of an identity.
However, the Hornets didn’t really impress either in their first game against the Pacers after taking a hard-fought loss. But still, the Hornets at least have bucket-getters. Bryce McGowens scored 17 points while a familiar face in Nick Richards added 15 points.
Kai Jones scored 12 and LJ Figueroa added 16 off the bench which was nice to see. The Hornets have something about them. On paper, this team looks so much better than the Lakers, so I’ll take them at -120 on the moneyline.
Bet: Hornets (-120 at DraftKings)
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