Our best bets have been on fire throughout the Las Vegas Summer League and we are looking to remain hot with 4 picks from the 7-game Thursday slate. The action tips off at 4:30 PM EST, so be sure to get your bets locked in early.
The Pacers finally picked up a Summer League win the last time they took the court, while the Nuggets are still trying to pick up their first win. Jarace Walker has been their top scorer as the second-year point-forward is looking to nail a rotation spot in Indianapolis next season. Outside of Walker, look for rookie wings Johnny Furphy (Kansas) and Enrique Freeman (Akron) to make an impact in this early game. Furphy has made 3 three-pointers per game, while Freeman is shooting over 60% from the field in over 22 minutes of play.
Denver’s hopes of a successful Summer League run took a hit when rookie center DaRon Holmes went down with an injury in Game 1 after scoring 11 points in 25 minutes. Now, they have struggled to find a win behind second-year wings Julian Strawther and Hunter Tyson, though Strawther’s 28.5 PPG on 40% shooting from deep has been extremely promising as he looks to fill KCP’s role - or at least provide some production off the bench for the pro Nuggets.
Best Bet: Pacers -5
While Sacramento doesn’t have a “standout” player to watch during this NBA Summer League, they have seen some glimpses from Mason Jones and Keon Ellis to get excited.
As for a team with a ton of eyeballs on them, Bub Carrington has provided hope for Washington fans as their next franchise point guard seems to be on the way. Bub is averaging 19 PPG and 6 APG on an unbelievable 42% shooting from deep.
The cause for concern for D.C.? 1st overall pick Alex Sarr is averaging under 7 PPG in 30 minutes of play during their 3 games, while shooting just 20% from the field. While it is just Summer League, I am indeed concerned that Sarr shot 0-15 - yes zero for fifteen - from the field in their last game against Portland.
Best Bet: Wizards -2.5
The shock of Summer League has been the LA Clippers. The 3-0 squad led by second-year player out of Miami Jordan Miller has bulldozed through Summer League thus far. Miller has developed his game over the past year as he now looks to be a complete scorer, shooting 57% from deep on 2.7 3PM during his SL run. Outside of Miller, Kobe Brown and Cam Christie are providing secondary scoring as LA is now favored in this matchup to go 4-0.
Utah is coming off a big win against the Raptors where they received contributions all across the table. Taylor Hendricks had his best game of the summer so far, shooting 9-10 from the field finishing with 23 points and 9 boards. Kyle Filipowski finally put together a solid performance and looked more like his Duke stretch-four self, scoring 20 points on 2-3 shooting from beyond the arc.
The one guard that should give LA issues is Isaiah Collier, whose change-of-pace play is something Danny Ainge and company want him to take advantage of.
Best Bet: Clippers -4.5
Although Rob Dillingham has looked like a pro at times throughout his three Summer League games, he’s only shot 28% from the field while scoring just 9.3 PPG. This will be a great matchup for him to exploit against the smaller Rockets backcourt in a game that should have stretches of back-and-forth scoring. While Shannon Jr., Josh Minott, and Leonard Miller have all had their positive moments in Vegas, I’m looking at Dillingham to finally break out and lead the Wolves to their third SL victory.
Reed Sheppard and Cam Whitmore have dominated in Vegas and will most likely secure their rotation spot on the Rockets roster within the next week or two as training camp will start up after the Olympics. Outside of these two, the Rockets Summer League roster isn’t extremely deep, but against the smaller and thinner Minnesota bigs, look for Summer League “legend” Orlando Robinson to put together another positive game.
The Sheppard-to-Robinson connection has given smaller and weaker teams plenty of issues, the two combining for 44 points and 21 boards against the Wizards in their last victory.
Best Bet: Timberwolves +1