We are inching closer to crowning the 2023 NBA Las Vegas Summer League. The semi-finals are up with the Brooklyn Nets taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Utah Jazz squaring off against the Houston Rockets. With that said, it is time to continue our NBA odds series with a Nets-Cavaliers prediction and pick.
The Brooklyn Nets are the lone team without a spotless record that made it to the final four of Summer League. Their only loss — a narrow four-point defeat — came against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in their Las Vegas opener. They have rattled three straight wins since, including a massive 99-94 victory over the Toronto Raptors last Friday. The Nets own the third-best point differential in Vegas at plus-10, which ultimately booked their ticket to the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have yet to be taken down in Las Vegas. They have looked dominant for the most part with the highest point differential in the league at 13.5. That number is skewed by a pair of 23-point blowouts — one against the Toronto Raptors and the other against the Memphis Grizzlies — during their middle two games in Summer League. They bookended the tournament with a couple of squeeze-out four-point wins.
Here are the Vegas Summer League NBA Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Summer League Odds: Nets-Cavaliers Odds:
Brooklyn Nets: +3.5 (-114)
Cleveland Cavaliers: -3.5 (-106)
Over: 184.5 (-105)
Under: 184.5 (-115)
How to Watch Nets vs. Cavaliers
TV: ESPN
Stream: Watch ESPN
Time: 4:00 PM ET/ 1:00 PM PT
*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why the Nets could cover the spread
The Nets enter this semi-finals matchup as 3.5-point underdogs. They, of course, couldn't care less if they win by less than four points, but it would make a lot of their bettors happy if they win and cover the spread. Brooklyn certainly has their chance to knock off the top team in Vegas so far. They were close to doing so in their first encounter with the Cavaliers to open Summer League. In fact, they entered the fourth quarter with a four-point lead, but Cleveland orchestrated a 34-26 fourth quarter to take the win.
In that game, Armoni Brooks and Jalen Wilson led all Nets scorers that game with 17 points apiece. Kennedy Chandler contributed 16 points as six total Brooklyn players were in double-figures that game.
The Nets have three guys averaging over 16 points per game in Summer League. David Duke Jr., who has appeared in 45 regular seasons games with Brooklyn over the last two seasons, leads the team in scoring with averages of 17.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game. Brooks is turning in 16.8 points, while Wilson is scoring 16.5 points per contest. Chandler is averaging just under 15 points and is leading the team in assists with 5.0 per game.
The Nets have won their three games by an average of 14 points, which would be the highest in the league if only taking into account the wins. They are also the top team in the league in steals, averaging 11.5 per game as a team.
Why the Cavaliers could cover the spread
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers are 3.5-point favorites for this semi-finals showdown, which is just right where they won against the Nets in their first meeting. The Cavaliers have been the best team in the tournament so far and they will look to carry their momentum from the eliminations and book a ticket to the Summer League championship.
As a team, the Cavaliers lead the Summer League in three-point percentage (37.3 percent) and rebounds per game (45.5). The Cavs also have five players averaging at least 13.0 points in the tournament.
Sam Merrill, who has appeared in 41 regular season games in the NBA, leads them in scoring 18.7 points per game. He also leads the tournament in three-pointers made per game at 5.0 triples. He also reportedly set the Summer League record for most threes in a game with eight triples in their win over the Memphis Grizzlies last Monday. Merrill did sit out Cleveland's most recent game against Chicago, so it remains to be seen whether he will be available for this afternoon's semi-finals game.
Emoni Bates is also looking more and more like the steal of the draft in Vegas so far. Bates, taken 49th overall by Cleveland, is averaging 16.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in four Summer League games. Together, Bates and Merrill lit up the Grizzlies with a scintillating offensive display.
Final Nets-Cavaliers prediction and pick
The Cavaliers should be the pick here over the Nets. They have looked so dominant throughout Summer League and there doesn't seem to be a team who can stop them. Sam Merrill should suit up for this game and even if he doesn't, the Cavaliers have a lot of offensive firepower and an imposing defense to advance to the championship round.
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