2024 Paris Olympics Basketball Odds & Picks: Saturday (8/10)
The gold medal in the Men’s Olympic Basketball is up for grabs.
It’s going to be a good one. France will take on the United States after two insane matchups in the semifinals.
France took down Germany, and the United States escaped Serbia to reach this point. Therefore, Serbia and Germany will play for Bronze before the Gold Medal game between the USA and France.
The atmosphere in this gold medal matchup will be insane. France is playing in front of its home crowd, while the United States always draws a crowd.
We’ll add our favorite pick for that game and the best bet for the bronze medal matchup.
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Saturday’s Best Men’s Olympic Basketball Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Germany vs. Serbia
Serbia earned a historic comeback against Australia in the quarterfinal and then took it to the United States in the semis. Serbia led the United States by 15 points multiple times in that game. They shot 46.5% from the field and only turned the ball over seven times. In addition, Serbia beat the United States on the glass and shot 38.5% from deep.
Against any other team, it would’ve been a wrap. But the United States stormed back in the fourth quarter and earned a win. Serbia didn’t have the depth to compete with the United States. But it’s not like Serbia ran out of gas. Ultimately, the United States just focused more on the defensive end and played their tails off.
On the other hand, Germany only shot 40.3% from the field against France. They held the French to 22.2% of downtown but couldn’t score enough inside the arc.
Dennis Schroder was the leading scorer after attempting 11 threes and 18 shots. He was really the only player that stepped up on offense in the semifinal game. Franz Wagner scored 10 points on 4-for-10, and Daniel Theis added eight points with 11 rebounds and six assists. He had an all-around good game, but foul trouble is always major for him.
That said, Serbia has been on a historic run over the last couple of games. They’ll bring that momentum to this game and earn a bronze medal.
Pick: Serbia -2.5 (-110)
United States vs. France
France knocked off Germany in the semifinals to improve to 4-1 in the tournament. Although they’re playing in front of their home crowd, that still doesn’t provide more depth for the roster.
In the semis, Rudy Gobert rode the bench again. He played just five minutes and took one shot. It’ll be interesting to see if the French give him an opportunity against all of these NBA players that he’s familiar with on the USA side. France loves shooting their three-point balls, and they’ll be amped for this game.
That said. France barely survived Germany after shooting 6-for-27 from three. Victor Wembanyama also shot 4-for-17 from the floor in the semifinals. France might not be able to keep up offensively with the United States.
In the other semifinal matchup, the United States dropped 95 on Serbia despite just 43 points in the first half. The team still shot 57.4% from the field and hit 50% from downtown. The USA hasn’t dominated the glass in this tournament, but they’ve shot effectively from the field.
In addition, the United States only turned the ball over ten times in the semis against Serbia. Turnovers were a major concern in the tournament, but the United States has improved.
While it’ll be a tough test against France, look for the United States to come out more hungry. They probably didn’t give the best defensive intensity early against Serbia. But they won’t make that mistake in the Gold Medal game. Let’s take the United States to get a massive win and cover -16.5.
Pick: United States -16.5 (-112)
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