Chicago Bulls vs. Utah Jazz (9pm ET)
What was supposed to be a hyped up matchup between a pair of top-five picks in Las Vegas has lost its appeal from a fan standpoint, but this game now offers a strong betting angle. No. 2 overall pick, Darryn Peterson, and the Jazz lost on Sunday night in Summer League to the Clippers, falling to 0-2 in Vegas, following a 3-0 showing in the Salt Lake City Summer League.
Peterson has played in both games in Vegas so far for the Jazz, and two of the three games in SLC. It was reported on Sunday night that Peterson, who sat out the back-to-back in SLC, would also rest this time around on Monday against the Bulls. With four Summer League games under his belt, it’s not out of the question that we do not see Peterson again in Vegas, but that’s still to be determined.
However, we know that we won’t be seeing Ace Bailey again this summer. The No. 5 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft suffered a back spasm in the SLC Summer League, but returned on Sunday night. The injury flared up again, and Bailey has been ruled out for the remainder of Las Vegas. Cody Williams, a 2024 Lottery Pick and the younger brother of Jalen Williams, has also been ruled out for the second leg of this back-to-back.
That leaves Utah without any high-end talent on Monday, turning primarily to backups. It’s also a possibility the Jazz decide to rest even more of their roster given that they have already played five total games. Then we have the Bulls, who have only played once this summer. Chicago lost by one-point on Friday night to the Grizzlies, but did cover the game as the underdog.
No. 4 overall pick, Caleb Wilson, looked fantastic in the loss — 35 points (7-of-11 from downtown), five rebounds, three blocks and two steals. As well as he played, he made it clear he was disappointed to lose the game. Now Wilson, along with the rest of a strong, young Bulls roster, get a great shot to dominate a lesser Utah roster and get one in the win column.
Beyond Wilson, Chicago has more first round picks from the last two draft classes in Dailyn Swain and Noa Essengue. The roster is rounded out with plenty of college stars looking to crack the NBA, like Jaylin Sellers, Tobe Awaka, Malik Williams, Donovan Atwell, Kennedy Chandler and Antonio Reeves.
Look for a fully loaded and fresh Bulls squad to overwhelm whatever the Jazz roll out there for their sixth game and second in as many nights. I’ve laid the points with Chicago and also tied them into a moneyline parlay with the Pistons. Detroit plays in the first game of the day and faces the Knicks, who arguably have the worst roster in Vegas. New York has played twice so far, dropping both games by a combined 47 points.
NBA Summer League Pick: Bulls -4.5 (-110)
NBA Summer League Pick: Bulls/Pistons Moneyline Parlay (-115)
