Normally, the NBA likes to pit the first and second overall picks against each other in the first game of NBA Summer League. However, with Cooper Flagg’s Dallas Mavericks set to take on Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers, Dylan Harper’s San Antonio Spurs will meet VJ Edgecombe and the Philadelphia 76ers instead. The game will tip at 10 p.m. ET.
The 76ers are four-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook (-185 on the Moneyline), with the point total set for 173.5. San Antonio is +154 on the Moneyline. I’ll break down this much-anticipated matchup with a preview of each team and offer a prediction.
Spurs-76ers Roster Breakdown
We have a sense of how both of these teams will look, since Philadelphia took part in the Salt Lake City Summer League and the Spurs participated in the California Classic Summer League. If the Salt Lake City Summer League means anything, 76ers fans have a lot to look forward to this season; Edgecombe, the third overall pick, looked explosive, recording 28 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, one steal, and two blocks in his lone appearance. He then went down with a thumb sprain and missed the last two games in Utah, and he’ll miss tonight as well. Given his dominant display and the track record for top picks, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Philadelphia shut him down entirely.
In Edgecombe’s absence, Judah Mintz and Justin Edwards will likely lead the 76ers’ line. In three games in Salt Lake City, Mintz — a former Syracuse product who’s celebrating his 22nd birthday today — averaged 19.3 points per game and led all players with 7.7 free-throw attempts per game. Edwards averaged 13.0 points per game while making 40% of his triples, production that shouldn’t be a surprise given that he averaged 10.1 points per game on 46-36-70 shooting splits in the NBA last season. Philadelphia will be hoping for flashes from second-round pick Johni Broome, who shot the ball inefficiently but averaged seven boards per game. The 76ers went 1-2.
San Antonio also went 1-2 at the California Classic, though it almost closed out the Lakers before blowing a 14-point fourth-quarter lead. At that tournament, the Spurs were led by David Jones-Garcia, who averaged an extremely efficient 22.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game after averaging 24.5 points per game last season with the Mexico City Capitanes. 14th overall pick Carter Bryant played two games, averaging eight points and 5.5 fouls per game on poor efficiency, while Harper will have to wait at least two more days to make his debut after suffering a groin injury. While the Spurs wait for Harper to be ready, they’ll hope to see more from Bryant, who projects to fill the roster’s biggest hole as a three-and-D wing.
76ers vs. Spurs Pick
With both teams’ top-three picks missing, both offenses will be more egalitarian instead of spoon-feeding touches to rookie lead guards. While Edgecombe was fantastic in his one Salt Lake City game, he also wasn’t particularly efficient, missing six of his seven threes and needing 27 shots to reach 28 points. With more team-centric offense led by experienced scorers like Edwards and Jones-Garcia, I expect shots to fall and scores to rise. Two of each team’s three games so far have gone over 173.5 points. I’ll take Philadelphia to win the offensive explosion.
