NBA Summer League is a chance for NBA fans to see some of the best young talent in the league, whether it is on their team or another. That is true for the Cleveland Cavaliers as much as anyone, as they haven’t played a game since the season ended in May. The Cavs also play a number of opposing teams stocked with young, exciting players.
The Cavs’ roster is headlined by recent No. 3 overall pick Evan Mobley, who will see time at both center and power in Las Vegas. He will pair with Isaac Okoro as the two linchpin talents for Cleveland, a devastating defensive combination. Mfiondu Kabengele, Chandler Vaudrin and Lamar Stevens are other intriguing names.
The Cavs’ first four matchups in Summer League are set. Who are they playing, and what players should fans watch for?
The format for the 2021 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas is changed from previous years. Instead of a knockout-style playoff bracket, with teams playing to win but also wanting to go home, every single team will play five games. The first four games are set already, and the two teams with the best record will play in a championship game, while the other 28 teams will be assigned a final game.
Summer League kicks off on August 8th, with the Cavaliers playing their first game at 6:30 pm ET. Who are they playing in that first game, and throughout the preliminary rounds? Here is a guide to all four of the Cavs’ first-round games at Summer League.
Previewing Cavs’ Summer League: Game 1 – Houston Rockets
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Houston Rockets: Aug. 8th, 6:30 pm ET, ESPN2
One of the very first games in Las Vegas will feature two teams that just added cornerstone prospects in the 2021 NBA Draft. One pick before the Cavs took Evan Mobley third overall, the Houston Rockets took teenage shooting guard Jalen Green.
Green is a hyper-athletic 2-guard who might be able to drop 20 a game as early as his rookie season. He can jump out of the gym, and fans watching in-person and at home should be treated to a few highlight dunks. The Rockets want to see what they have in Green, so he should get plenty of run in Vegas.
The Rockets had a busy draft, and all four of their first round picks will be showing up in Summer League. They traded back into the middle of the first round to take Turkish center Alperen Sengun, who dominated the Turkish league at age 18. How does his game translate to an NBA environment?
Houston added another European big man at pick No. 23, taking Usman Garuba. The 6’8″ big might be the best defender in the draft other than Mobley, and he is so good already that he will be coming to Las Vegas by way of Tokyo as he was playing for the Spanish National Team.
Josh Christopher is a raw guard who can flat-out score and needs to prove whether he can do that efficiently; he’ll probably take the second-most shots of any Rockets player in Vegas. KJ Martin was their second round pick in 2020 and the son of former NBA player Kenyon Martin. Matthew Hurt is a sharpshooting 4 who went undrafted out of Duke.
All in all, there are plenty of intriguing young players for fans of the Cavs to enjoy watching as the two teams face off on Sunday evening.
Previewing Cavs’ Summer League: Game 2 – Orlando Magic
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Orlando Magic: Aug 11, 6:00 pm ET, ESPN2
The Cleveland Cavaliers and their fans knew with a high degree of confidence that they were going to be able to draft Evan Mobley at the third pick, and overall the first five picks contained the five players everyone expected at the top. Things got surprising from there, as the Oklahoma City Thunder took Australian wing Josh Giddey with pick No. 6.
Giddey is 6’8″ but handles the ball like a guard, and his passing should be a delight to watch in Las Vegas. He was the kind of player the Cavs could have considered trading back into the lottery to draft, although in the end he went higher than anyone expected.
The Thunder, in all-out rebuilding mode, will play a number of young prospects while at Summer League. Tre Mann, a 6’5″ guard out of Florida, was their other first round pick. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is a rookie out of Villanova who went in the second young, a do-it-all 6’9″ forward who was one of college basketball’s better players last season.
Theo Maledon is one other player to keep an eye on. The French point guard was at one time considered a lottery prospect, but he fell into the second round in the 202 NBA Draft. Last year with the Thunder he was inefficient and struggled with turnovers, but he also had a number of highlight plays and his upside is still high.
The Thunder Summer League roster is on the smaller side, and they should all have a tough time scoring inside on Mobley. The fun thing to watch for will be the passing of Giddey and Maledon as they get acclimated to their teammates.
Previewing Cavs’ Summer League: Game 3 – New Orleans Pelicans
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New Orleans Pelicans: Aug 13, 6:00 pm ET, NBA TV
The New Orleans Pelicans will not be bringing their franchise superstar to NBA Summer League; although some teams will have their 2019 draft picks with them, the Pelicans are not bringing Zion Williamson to Las Vegas, just like the Cavs aren’t bringing Darius Garland.
The centerpiece of the Pelicans’ squad will therefore by Kira Lewis Jr. Entering his second season Lewis won’t turn 21 until the last week of the upcoming season, and the Pelicans are hoping the fast point guard can develop into their future starter at the position.
Didi Louzada is another name to watch, a 6’5″ guard from Brazil who played two seasons in Australia before joining the Pelicans for the last couple weeks of last season. The recipient of a new four-year contract, Louzada is largely an unknown and it will be fun to see what he brings to the court.
Herbert Jones and Moses Wright are a pair of talented bigs who were dominant in college basketball last year. Jones was a do-it-all defensive monster at Alabama and brings the Pelicans an edge on defense they haven’t had. Wright was a double-double machine at Georgia Tech and could be a frightening pairing with Jones in the frontcourt.
Much more so than against the Magic, Evan Mobley will get tested playing the Pelicans. Seeing how he handles the physicality of Jones and Wright will be a window into his rookie year in the big leagues.
Previewing Cavs’ Summer League: Game 4 – New York Knicks
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. New York Knicks: Aug 14, 8:00 pm ET, ESPN2
The final game in the preliminary stage for the Cleveland Cavaliers will come against a classic Eastern Conference foe, the New York Knicks. The Knicks have been a headliner in free agency as they signed and re-signed a number of veteran players, but in Las Vegas the focus will be on their young talent.
The most polished player the Cavs face all summer might be Obi Toppin, a confident scoring big man who came on late in his rookie season despite playing behind Julius Randle last year. He has the potential to drop 30 even in the limited minutes of a Summer League game.
Immanuel Quickley is a fellow rising sophomore who had a breakout rookie year for the Knicks, projecting as a strong backup point guard next season and one day even taking on a starting role. Quickley will have to share the ball, however, as a trio of lead guards will also be joining him on the Knicks’ Summer League roster.
Luca Vildoza is playing for a job, as he is on a non-guaranteed contract and needs to show the Knicks’ front office he deserves to stick around. The 25-year-old Argentinan point guard is also coming to Las Vegas from Tokyo and has an accomplished career outside of the NBA.
Miles McBride and Rokas Jokubaitis went early in the second round to the Knicks, somewhat of a fire-and-water combo at point guard. McBride was one of the better on-ball defenders in the draft, and is lightning quick with the ball in his hands. Jokubaitis is a great passer but a lack of athleticism means he doesn’t have the same speed of McBride nor the defensive impact.
If all of the above guards weren’t enough, the Knicks will also be giving run to their first round pick from last month’s draft, Quentin Grimes. The former Houston Cougar is a tough defender who has developed into a sniper from outside, and he brings great rebounding instincts for a guard. It’s likely Cavs fans will see him scrapping for loose balls and sprinting the court and overall wishing he wasn’t in Vegas.
NBA Summer League is not about winning, but the Cavs should have a decent chance to win any game they play in with the combination of Mobley and Okoro. The teams they are playing have plenty of young talent, which should make all of these games fun to watch for fans of the Cavs.