The NBA season and the NBA Draft have come and gone but that doesn't mean we have to wait until the new season to get our basketball fix. The NBA 2K25 Summer League kicks off this week with the 2024 rookie class and top prospects battling it out for the Summer League Championship.

This is where players may not have been lottery picks or even picked at all to showcase their skills for their team to obtain a roster spot in the upcoming 2024/2025 NBA season. Let's kick things off with a matchup between the 2023 Summer League Champions the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic.

With that said, we take a look at this NBA 2K25 Summer League matchup to make a Cavaliers-Magic prediction and pick.

(Photo by David Liam Kyle/NBAE via Getty Images)

Cleveland Cavaliers NBA Summer League Team Analysis

Cleveland Cavaliers (0-0) come into this summer league as the 2023 summer league champions but bringing in a new cast of players will make it a bit difficult to reclaim the dominance they had just a year ago.

However, they still have a good cast of players that will go out there and leave it all out there as they look to shine for the Cavaliers front office.

FanDuel

4.5/5

Use FanDuel Promo on Cavaliers VS Magic: Bet $5, get $200 in Bonus Bets

• User-friendly mobile app & website
• Low cost spreads
• Highly competitive odds

–

–

This summer league squad will be led by returning players Craig Porter Jr., Luke Travers, Emory Bates, and Pete Nance who all contributed to their championship last summer.

• It will be Porter who will be the focal point of this Cavaliers team being the most experienced out of the bunch playing in 51 regular season games last year while starting 6 of those.

Also, this will be the first time the Cavaliers get to see what they are working with their first-round draft pick Jaylon Tyson who was the 20th overall selection in the 2024 NBA Draft.

• They also have undrafted rookie DJ Burns who was a big part of NC State's Cinderella run to the Final Four in last year's March Madness tournament.

It'll be a feeling-out process for the Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott who will be leading this Cavaliers squad in this year's summer league. If they can get the same production from the return players as they did last summer league they can make a deep run.

Orlando Magic NBA Summer League Team Analysis

Orlando Magic (0-0)?comes into this year's summer league as one of the more experienced teams. They have players like Anthony Black, Jett Howard, Xavier Moon, and Jay Huff who are all experienced players in the NBA.

1. Black has played the most out of the bunch playing 69 games last season while starting 33 of them from the Orlando Magic.
2. Then the Magic has their first-round pick No. 18 overall Tristan da Silva who they are excited to see what they have for him.
3. During his senior year in college the 6'8" forward averaged 16 ppg to go along with 5.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 40% from 3-point range.

The experience of this Orlando Magic summer league squad gives them a leg up in this matchup and can really show up if they can play a cohesive game together during this first game of the summer. It will be up to these experienced players to put it all together if they can do that they will have the capability of starting this summer league off with a victory.

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS Vs ORLANDO MAGIC FANDUEL ODDS FOR JULY 12TH

MONEY LINE

• CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: +120
• ORLANDO MAGIC: -148

SPREAD

• CLEVELAND CAVALIERS: +2.5 (-110)
• ORLANDO MAGIC: -2.5 (-110)

OVER/UNDER (TOTAL)

• OVER 183.5 (-113)
• UNDER 183.5 (-113)

BEST NBA SUMMER LEAGUE BETS AND ODDS FOR CLEVELAND CAVALIERS Vs ORLANDO MAGIC

• The Orlando Magic are -2.5-point favorites against the Cleveland Cavaliers. FanDuel currently has the best odds at -2.5 (-110)
• The Cleveland Cavaliers are the underdogs by 2.5 points to cover the spread. FanDuel currently has the best odds at +2.5 (-110)
• DraftKings currently has the best odds for the total, which is set at 184.5 (-110) for the over, and (-110) for the under

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS Vs ORLANDO MAGIC INJURY REPORT

CLEVELAND CAVALIERS INJURY REPORT

• NONE

ORLANDO MAGIC INJURY REPORT INJURY REPORT

• NONE

FINAL CAVALIERS-MAGIC PICK & PREDICTION

The Orlando Magic should have a leg up in the NBA 2K25 Summer League opener when it comes to their experience. Players like Black and Howard have recent NBA experience starting games for the Magic last season with Moon and other players on the team having played multiple seasons in the league.

With the little experience that the Cavaliers have coming into this game, it'll be tough for them to overcome as the Magic just edge this one out in a closely contested matchup.

FINAL CAVALIERS-MAGIC PICK & PREDICTION: ORLANDO MAGIC -2.5 (-110)

Check our FanDuel sportsbook review to find out more about FanDuel's rating, bonuses, betting margins, and other helpful details.