On Tuesday night, NBA Summer League in Salt Lake City wraps up with a duel between Darryn Peterson’s Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are led by a pair of first-round picks. This should be a fun tune-up before the action shifts to Vegas later in the week for the main tournament. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET.
Here’s a betting pick and game prediction for the Thunder vs. Jazz matchup in NBA Summer League on Tuesday night, courtesy of lines on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Thunder vs. Jazz prediction, preview
The Thunder’s Summer League squad has played two games, both of which ended in losses. The goal for now is just to get young players’ legs under them, so that’s been accomplished to some degree. However, a blowout against the Grizzlies in the first outing was a major letdown, and neither of Oklahoma City’s prized prospects looked all that good in a five-point loss to the Hawks last night.
Reigning Big Ten DPOY Aday Mara was the No. 12 selection in the NBA Draft. The 7-foot-3 big man posted 12.1 points with 6.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in his only NCAA campaign — he produced as advertised in his Summer League debut with 10 points, three boards, four assists and a pair of blocks in 22 minutes. However, he shot just 3-for-9 with 10 points, nine boards and five turnovers in his more recent game. Meanwhile, No. 16 selection Bennett Stirtz put up 10 points with four assists and a pair of made threes to start Summer League, but scored only nine points on a 4-for-14 line last time out as well. Kentucky standout Otega Oweh finished with just four points on 1-for-7 shooting as well. Perhaps they can find their form tonight, but the results in this environment haven’t been great for these young players.
If there’s any story from Utah Summer League, it’s fitting that the hometown team would get the headlines. The Jazz have won both games thus far — 103-102 in an overtime thriller over the Hawks and 109-100 against the Grizzlies. So far, scoring has been no problem for this roster, though defense seems like a largely overrated concept.
The clear winner through these contests is Darryn Peterson, who was the No. 2 pick last month and has been incredible through his early appearances. The Kansas product dropped a cool 28 points in his Summer League debut, though eight turnovers clearly gave him something to work on. However, he followed it up with a 25-point, 12-assist double-double on 8-for-15 shooting, plus just two turnovers in that second outing. He’s looked comfortable as a shot creator already and flashed his playmaking chops too, so his play should prove very interesting to follow. Ace Bailey, who averaged 13.8 PPG last season for the NBA squad as a high lottery pick, didn’t suit up for one of these Summer League games but produced 10 points in the other. He may or may not be active tonight. Cody Williams is in year three with the Jazz and is also on this iteration of the young roster, coming off an 18-point, eight-rebound performance.
Thunder vs. Jazz pick, best bet
The Jazz are a -3.5 favorite tonight with -170 odds on the Moneyline. The Thunder hold +142 odds to win outright with the game total set at 179.5 points.
Anything can happen in these Summer League games since there’s much less focus on structure and more of an emphasis on flee-flowing basketball through the rookies as they show what they’re capable of. Of course, youth sometimes means sloppy mistakes and more unpredictable outcomes as well.
Personally, I’m eyeing over 91.5 points for the Jazz as the top pick amongst the limited betting lines available here. Utah’s young roster is coming off 103 and 109 points thus far and has pushed the tempo, and clearly, they have the best player on this Summer League stage. Peterson has been very impressive while Bailey and Williams (if they play) also provide more experience than most of the players on the floor. I like that trio to do much of the heavy lifting and largely get their way against a Thunder group that’s clearly yet to gel at this point. Mara’s defensive prowess can’t be overstated in the paint, but he’s probably not enough to overcome this Utah attack.
Best Bet: UTA Jazz over 91.5 points (-115)
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