NBA Summer League Finals: Rockets vs. Cavaliers Preview, Odds, Predictions

The Las Vegas Summer League has reached its finals, and the two undefeated teams, Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers will decide which one wins the competition in Nevada. For a long time, we haven’t seen such hype about the winner of the NBA Summer League, and it appears that all that led up to this only increased the media attention. Houston is an offensive-minded unit, while on the other hand, the Cavs are pushing their defensive agenda even throughout the summer. For sure, this is going to be an enjoyable battle between these two sides.

Preview 

Houston Rockets (+135) have an impressive offense that keeps grinding the rivals, no matter who is on the floor. They have switched and tried several players, some of them even shutting down and giving a chance to others to show their skillet, but the productivity never dropped. 

Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr. are out, the same as Tari Eason, and all of these guys had some unreal games; Smith Jr. dropped 70 points in two games, while Eason recorded 23 per night. That was enough for the Rockets’ front office to pull them away from the Summer League, as they probably passed all the tests and didn’t need to risk any injuries. 

However, they now have Cam Whitmore, who exploded without any competition and now averages 20.4 points, 5.6 boards, while shooting .465 from the field. Nate Hinton was excellent in the semis against the Utah Jazz, delivering 27 buckets, with five boards and steals. 

Cleveland Cavaliers (-155) have Emoni Bates and Evan Mobley’s brother, Isaiah, and these two guys are a pair of very intriguing forwards who might even have a notable role during the regular part of the year. 

This team relies upon hard and physical defense, which isn’t usually the case during the NBA Summer League. Their rivals didn’t surpass 100 points in any of the five games played, and we even saw Memphis and Toronto not being able to reach 80 buckets, which is for every respect when it comes to Cavs’ defense.

Sharpshooting guard, Sam Merrill is another very decent player from this crew. He has been scoring 18.8 points during the summer league and is the top scorer on the team. Bates adds 16.8 while Mobley adds 15.8. 

Prediction

It will be very interesting to see which playstyle prevails here, with the teams having a completely opposite approach on the floor. Houston will try to speed up the game and make this a high-scoring event, while on the other side, the Cavs are more of an iso-first unit with a slow, grinding, and tactical attack. In terms of looking at which team has more flair and talent, that’s Houston, no doubt. Though, the Rockets know how to compete and look a bit more mature as if they already gained that competitive edge. That’s why we pick them to win this battle and the Summer League in Las Vegas. We are more than sure that quite a few players from this lineup will have a place on the Cavs’ regular roster season. 

Pick: Cavaliers win -155