Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (9pm ET)
The Nuggets do not have a lineup that scares the opposition much, but KJ Simpson is the type of player that can carry a Summer League roster. Denver is 1-1 in Las Vegas thus far, and has been off since a Saturday night win over the Timberwolves. In that victory, Simpson went for a 19-4-4 line and had the best plus/minus in the game at +21.
Because the Nuggets have only played twice so far, and Simpson is not a player they invested a high draft pick in, I’m expecting him to be back out there on Tuesday. Simpson is a solid point guard that with two seasons of NBA experience under his belt, and has the potential to dominate these games. The former Colorado guard is surrounded with some decent talent when it comes to college basketball stars over the last couple of seasons, including Bryce Hopkins — Denver’s second round pick in last month’s draft.
So there’s what the Nuggets have — a good, but not great roster. However, the Thunder have been dreadful in Summer League. OKC last played on Sunday, losing to the Warriors by 25 points. Prior to that, the Thunder lost to the Lakers by 12 points, making them 0-2 in Las Vegas. But Summer League did not start in Sin City for this roster. OKC also participated in the Salt Lake City Summer League, where it went 0-3.
Overall, the Thunder are 0-5 through both Summer Leagues, and continue to use the same roster. OKC’s average loss is by over 22 points per game, and it has only kept the game within single digits once. Are we sure this team should be laying points to anybody?
Yes, the Nuggets might be the softest roster that OKC has faced yet, but the Thunder also haven’t even been coming close to winning games. As long as Simpson is Denver’s starting point guard for this one, I’ll fade OKC.
NBA Summer League Pick: Nuggets +1.5 (-110)
