The Las Vegas Summer League gets underway on Thursday afternoon, and the opening game features some solid talent. The Pelicans will square off against the Timberwolves at 3:30pm ET, and I’m pretty impressed with the NBA-level scoring options that Minnesota features on its roster.
Both Rob Dillingham and Terrence Shannon Jr. played in Summer League last year and went on to play some real rotation minutes for a team that made it to the Western Conference Finals. Now they head back to Vegas with some valuable NBA experience, and while they may only play a game or two, I’m expecting them to dominate.
I’m focusing on Shannon Jr. here, who seems to always be up to the task when his team needs him to score. His minutes were inconsistent as a rookie, as you’d expect from a late first-round pick. He played in 32 regular season games, but when the Wolves had some injuries in February, he really helped them out. Over a seven game span, Shannon Jr. played at least 19 minutes in each game, and averaged nearly 14 points. His breakout game was dropping 25 points on the Lakers, sandwiched between additional 17-point efforts.
Let’s not forget that with its back against the wall in the postseason, Minnesota turned to Shannon Jr. for a spark off the bench against OKC. He scored in double figures twice in the Western Conference Finals, playing 16 minutes or fewer in both of those games.
Last Summer, Shannon Jr. went off for 25 points against these very Pelicans in his Summer League debut. He played 28 minutes in that game, and followed it up with 19 points in 30 minutes against the Pacers. Shannon Jr. was injured early in the next game, and Minnesota decided to hold him out for the remainder of Summer League.
Now, with that full season of NBA experience under his belt, Shannon Jr. should be set to dominate a game or two in Vegas before he shuts it down. We can back him to score 20+ Points at +140 on DraftKings Sportsbook, which I think is a terrific wager.
Summer League Play: Terrence Shannon Jr. 20+ Points (+140) – 0.75-units
Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app on Apple or Google!
