Hot Takes from Cavs’ Win Over Rockets in 2023 NBA Summer League Championship

The Cleveland Cavaliers continued their dominance in NBA 2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas with a 99-78 win over the Houston Rockets in Monday night’s championship game. It’s their first-ever summer league title.

With the win, the Cavs close out the summer league session in Las Vegas with a perfect 6-0 record. The best defensive team in the league last season, Cleveland carried over its impeccable defense to the summer and held opponents to an average of under 90 points. The Rockets had entered Monday’s matchup averaging a league-best 110.2 points per game.

The Cavs were led by a trio of players who look like they have the chance to be effective rotational players in the NBA in Isaiah Mobley, Sam Merrill and Emoni Bates.

Mobley, the older brother of Cavs star center Evan Mobley, led the way with 28 points and 11 rebounds on his way to earning the championship MVP award. Merrill continued to light it up, finishing with 27 points and six three-pointers to up his total to 25 triples in summer league. Bates, this year’s second-round pick, added 19 points for his sixth straight double-digit scoring performance.

The young Cavs were the talk of NBA Twitter on Monday after securing the summer league championship:

The Rockets were led by Nate Hinton, who finished with a team-high 18 points. 2023 summer league MVP Cam Whitmore scored 14 points but was held to 6-of-17 shooting from the field.

The Cavs are surely hoping to carry the momentum from summer league into the 2023-24 season. Cleveland is coming off a disappointing first-round playoff exit, so the team will be looking to bounce back with a better showing this year.