The NBA Summer League provides teams with a chance to assess the fringe players in their rosters in a game situation as well as giving valuable experience to their newly acquired draft picks.
The tournament semifinals take place on Saturday with the first game seeing the Houston Rockets taking on the Memphis Grizzlies at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Both teams arrive with a 3-1 record, with the Rockets losing only to the Toronto Raptors in the second of their four games, while the Grizzlies are also on a two-game winning run after losing their own second game against the Dallas Mavericks.
The Grizzlies are favorites to advance to the final but the Rockets look capable of putting up a decent fight.
Rockets vs Grizzlies betting picks and predictions
Houston Rockets +5.5 (-110)
The Houston Rockets had a much stronger 2025/26 NBA season than the Memphis Grizzlies but they are underdogs for the teams' Summer League semifinal on Saturday.
The Rockets went 52-30 to be the fifth seeds in the Western Conference, but lost 4-2 in the first round to the Lakers. That was still a better campaign than Memphis had, though, as the Grizzlies failed to make even the play-in games after finishing 13th of the 15 teams in the conference with a 25-57 record.
The likes of Kevin Durant and Ty Jerome won't be appearing in this game, though, as each team's back-up and developmental players get their chance to impress.
The Rockets started out with a 97-86 win over the Denver Nuggets before their 102-89 loss to the Raptors and earned their spot in the last four with a pair of convincing victories over the Philadelphia 76ers (90-64) and Brooklyn Nets (100-83).
The Grizzlies' campaign has followed a similar path but they started slowly with a narrow 97-96 win over the Chicago Bulls before their 96-88 defeat by the Mavs. They raised their game in their final two match-ups, though, beating the Golden State Warriors 106-85 and blowing out the Atlanta Hawks 96-64.
The Rockets didn't have a first-round pick in this year's draft but they should be mightily pleased with the player they took with the first selection of the second round as point guard Bruce Thornton already looks a steal, while small forward Isaiah Crawford, who went undrafted in 2024, has made a good impression this summer.
The Grizzlies have the highest-profile player in the game in third-overall pick Cameron Boozer and he has started his career well, with 23 points in his debut and 24 against the Hawks, when he shot 10 of 13 from the field.
The gap between the teams in the market looks too big, though, as the Rockets have done little wrong in their last two games, winning by 26 and 17 points, and against the 76ers they won every quarter by at least five points.
They look worth taking with a 5.5-point start on the spread.
Under 186.5 points (-110)
The increased pressure of a semifinal could see a stronger defensive performance from both teams and they have been solid on that front in any case.
The Rockets have not allowed more than 86 points in the three games they have won, while the Grizzlies have improved after conceding 96 points in each of their first two match-ups, allowing only 85 and 64 in their two latest outings.
They stunningly led the Hawks 32-2 after the first quarter in their last game, and while the Rockets should pose them more problems, a close and lower-scoring contest with under 186.5 points looks likely.
Bruce Thornton 20+ points (-110)
Houston rookie Bruce Thornton, out of Ohio State, looks a player to watch. The 31st overall pick in this year's draft scored a game-high 27 points against the Nuggets in his debut. He had a tougher time against the Raptors, but still posted 17, which he followed with 18 in a low-scoring game against the Sixers.
Thornton breached the 20-point barrier for a second time with 23 against the Nets in a physical encounter that saw Crawford ejected late on, and he has the talent to impress under pressure against the Grizzlies with 20 or more points.
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Rockets vs. Grizzlies odds
Houston Rockets | +170 |
Memphis Grizzlies | -205 |
Spread | MEM Grizzlies -5.5 |
Total Points | O/U 186.5 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
