🏀Summer League best bets: Wemby to shine on opening day🤞
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In my preview of Las Vegas Summer League, I outlined the difficulty in predicting the results in games with incredible amounts of variance.
Picking Summer League games is almost as unpredictable as a roulette spin. Just blocks from where these games take place, the wheel will spin. And so will ours as we give out some picks for opening day of Summer League.
All of the stars on a roster play on Day 1, so it's easier to have a sense of who is taking the floor for each team. Only one of the eight spreads is separated by more than 3.5 points.
Here's the complete list of Friday's games with a couple of best bets from the slate:
Wembanyama is presumably the best player in the tournament, which is why he was the No. 1 overall pick last month and is considered one of the greatest prospects in NBA history. His presence alone gives the Spurs the edge over most teams.
This is a showdown between the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks in the 2023 draft, but the gap between them is monumental. Brandon Miller headlines the Hornets, but he doesn't garner even close to as much attention as Wembanyama.
As much as the NBA likes to promote individual players, especially at an event like Summer League, it's a team sport, and it's unclear how much either star will even play in the opener.
The Spurs are the deeper team, with Dominick Barlow and Julian Champagnie - both signed to two-way contracts - carrying a large load.
The Spurs went 2-0 without Wembanyama in the Sacramento Summer League, including a 96-77 thrashing of Charlotte. Miller played that game and made a positive impact with 18 points in 31 minutes.
Adding someone with the skill set of Wembanyama to an already better and deeper team creates trouble for Charlotte. The Hornets went 0-2 in the Sacramento Summer League.
On Wednesday, this line was at Spurs -5 and has moved a point-and-a-half further in that direction, meaning money is coming in on San Antonio.
This is the largest spread of the eight games tipping off on Friday. San Antonio's roster already proved it was better than Charlotte's, and that was without Wembanyama.
Pick: Spurs -6.5 (-115)
Despite Murray's absence, the Kings went from +2000 to +1800 to win Summer League. The Hawks, on the other hand, are +6000 to leave Vegas as champs, which shows why the Kings are favored in the opener on Friday night.
The Kings didn't have much help behind Murray in their two games in Sacramento. In their most recent win, when Murray went off for 41 points, no other player scored more than 14, and just three other players scored in double figures.
The Hawks may not have any marquee names, but they have a deep roster, including Kobe Bufkin, AJ Griffin, Seth Lundy, and Tyrese Martin.
The market is undervaluing Murray's impact on the Kings. The Hawks have the talent to compete with most teams in Vegas, and I expect them to upset Sacramento.
Pick: Hawks +2.5 (-125)
Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer. You can follow him on Twitter @soshtry for more basketball betting coverage.
Sports gambling forum www.thegx.ca/forum copied and pasted this from the web🍻
TheGx sports betting forum copy and paste machines reporting:
In my preview of Las Vegas Summer League, I outlined the difficulty in predicting the results in games with incredible amounts of variance.
Picking Summer League games is almost as unpredictable as a roulette spin. Just blocks from where these games take place, the wheel will spin. And so will ours as we give out some picks for opening day of Summer League.
All of the stars on a roster play on Day 1, so it's easier to have a sense of who is taking the floor for each team. Only one of the eight spreads is separated by more than 3.5 points.
Here's the complete list of Friday's games with a couple of best bets from the slate:
| TIME (ET) | GAME/SPREAD |
|---|---|
| 4:30 p.m. | Pelicans (-1.5) vs. Timberwolves |
| 5 p.m. | Nuggets (+1.5) vs. Bucks |
| 6:30 p.m. | Bulls (-1.5) vs. Raptors |
| 7 p.m. | Blazers (-2.5) vs. Rockets |
| 8:30 p.m. | Cavs (-1.5) vs. Nets |
| 9 p.m. | Hornets (+6.5) vs. Spurs |
| 10:30 p.m. | Kings (-2.5) vs. Atlanta |
| 11 p.m. | Warriors (+3.5) vs. Lakers |
Spurs (-6.5) vs. Hornets
The NBA announced that Friday night's games are sold out, and there's one reason why. It's the 7-foot-5 Frenchman set to make his Summer League debut with his new organization. All eyes will be on Victor Wembanyama on Friday at 9 p.m. ET at the Thomas and Mack Center.Wembanyama is presumably the best player in the tournament, which is why he was the No. 1 overall pick last month and is considered one of the greatest prospects in NBA history. His presence alone gives the Spurs the edge over most teams.
This is a showdown between the No. 1 and No. 2 overall picks in the 2023 draft, but the gap between them is monumental. Brandon Miller headlines the Hornets, but he doesn't garner even close to as much attention as Wembanyama.
As much as the NBA likes to promote individual players, especially at an event like Summer League, it's a team sport, and it's unclear how much either star will even play in the opener.
The Spurs are the deeper team, with Dominick Barlow and Julian Champagnie - both signed to two-way contracts - carrying a large load.
The Spurs went 2-0 without Wembanyama in the Sacramento Summer League, including a 96-77 thrashing of Charlotte. Miller played that game and made a positive impact with 18 points in 31 minutes.
Adding someone with the skill set of Wembanyama to an already better and deeper team creates trouble for Charlotte. The Hornets went 0-2 in the Sacramento Summer League.
On Wednesday, this line was at Spurs -5 and has moved a point-and-a-half further in that direction, meaning money is coming in on San Antonio.
This is the largest spread of the eight games tipping off on Friday. San Antonio's roster already proved it was better than Charlotte's, and that was without Wembanyama.
Pick: Spurs -6.5 (-115)
Kings (-2.5) vs. Hawks
The Kings were my sleeper pick to win the entire Summer League before they announced Keegan Murray wouldn't be playing in Vegas. Murray lit up the Sacramento Summer League in his two appearances with 29 and 41 points, respectively.Despite Murray's absence, the Kings went from +2000 to +1800 to win Summer League. The Hawks, on the other hand, are +6000 to leave Vegas as champs, which shows why the Kings are favored in the opener on Friday night.
The Kings didn't have much help behind Murray in their two games in Sacramento. In their most recent win, when Murray went off for 41 points, no other player scored more than 14, and just three other players scored in double figures.
The Hawks may not have any marquee names, but they have a deep roster, including Kobe Bufkin, AJ Griffin, Seth Lundy, and Tyrese Martin.
The market is undervaluing Murray's impact on the Kings. The Hawks have the talent to compete with most teams in Vegas, and I expect them to upset Sacramento.
Pick: Hawks +2.5 (-125)
Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer. You can follow him on Twitter @soshtry for more basketball betting coverage.
Sports gambling forum www.thegx.ca/forum copied and pasted this from the web🍻