Houston Rockets vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction & Game Preview - July 17, 2023 | NBA Summer League

The Las Vegas Summer League is coming to an end, as we're entering the championship game, where the Cleveland Cavaliers will face off against the Houston Rockets.

Both teams will enter Monday with an undefeated record, yet only one of these rosters will be able to leave Las Vegas with some bragging rights. Which team that will be, remains to be seen.

Houston Rockets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Summer League: Prediction

The Rockets will enter their contest against the Cavaliers with the most talented player - Cam Whitmore. Throughout Summer League, Whitmore has impressed with his explosiveness, three-level scoring, and off-ball movement, even drawing comparisons to All-NBA forward Jaylen Brown.

As such, the Rockets have a slight advantage from the jump. Nevertheless, Emoni Bates has also been an impressive player during Summer League and will likely look to take control of the game for the Cavaliers. Cleveland also has Isaiah Mobley and Sam Merril.

As such, the Cavaliers should be marginal favorites to come out victorious, due to their depth and the multitude of ways they can approach breaking down the Rockets' half-court defense.

Houston Rockets Summer League Roster

Player	Position
Chris Brandon	F
Trhae Mitchell	F
Darius Days	F
Jhonathan Dunn	G
Tari Eason	F
Nate Hinton	G/F
Trevor Hudgins	G
Jay Huff	C
Justin Johnson	G/F
Jalen Lecque	G
Fletcher Magee	G
Matthew Mayer	F
Myles Powell	G
Tijohn Rodde	G
Jermaine Samuels Jr.	F
Jabari Smith Jr.	F
Amen Thompson	G
Cam Whitmore	F

Cleveland Cavaliers Summer League Roster

#	NAME	POS	HT	WT	DOB	PRIOR TO PROS	LAST TEAM
21	Emoni Bates	F	6-9	190	1/28/04	Eastern Michigan	Eastern Michigan
38	Mike Bothwell	G	6-3	195	1/19/00	Furman	Furman University
2	Sharife Cooper	G	6-1	180	6/11/01	Auburn	Cleveland Charge
18	Kahlifa Diop	C	6-10	231	1/15/02	Senegal	Gran Canaria (Spain)
39	Wendell Green	G	5-11	175	8/7/02	Auburn	Auburn
50	Cedric Henderson Jr.	G	6-6	200	3/3/00	Arizona	Arizona
5	Sam Merrill	G	6-5	205	5/15/96	Utah State	Cleveland Cavaliers
15	Isaiah Mobley	F	6-10	240	9/24/99	USC	Cleveland Charge
48	Pete Nance	F	6-11	230	2/19/00	UNC	UNC
40	Craig Porter Jr.	G	6-2	178	2/26/00	Wichita State	Wichita State
55	Devonte Shuler	G	6-2	185	2/9/98	Mississippi	Cleveland Charge
33	Luke Travers	F	6-7	208	9/3/01	Rockingham Flames (Aus.)	Perth Wildcats (Aus.)
49	Fabian White	F/C	6-8	230	11/29/98	Houston	South Bay Lakers

Houston Rockets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Odds, Spread, and Moneyline

Moneyline: Cavaliers (-172), Rockets (+136)

Spread: Cavaliers (-3.4), Rockets (+3.5)

Total: 188.5 Under (-113), Over (-113)

Houston Rockets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Where to watch

You can watch the contest on ESPN, NBA League Pass, and FUBO TV.

The game will be played at the Thomas & Mack Center and is set to tip off at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.

Houston Rockets vs Cleveland Cavaliers: Players to watch

Sam Merril, Emoni Bates, and Isiah Mobley will form the Cavaliers' 'big three' entering into Monday night's game, and will likely be a tough act to stop. Throughout the Summer League, Cleveland's trio has been a dynamic offensive threat, and that shouldn't be expected to stop now.

On the other side of the court, Cam Whitmore, Nate Hinton, and Trevor Hudgins will be the three main weapons due to Tari Eason, Amen Thompson, and Jabari Smith Jr. all being shut down - otherwise, this game would be a no-contest, and the Rockets would stroll to a Las Vegas Championship.

Overall, we're going to see two solid young teams playing for a chance to be crowned champions, which means we're likely to see some highly competitive basketball, and that's a win for everybody.