Team USA kicks things off right away against the reigning MVP and Serbia to open their group stage play. But there are also five other games to attack on DraftKings Sportsbook throughout the first two days of the Olympics.
Here are the opening matchups on Saturday and Sunday:
- Australia vs. Spain (Saturday)
- Germany vs. Japan (Saturday)
- France vs. Brazil (Saturday)
- Greece vs. Canada (Saturday)
- South Sudan vs. Puerto Rico (Sunday)
- Serbia vs. United States (Sunday)
Saturday
Greece vs. Canada
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander over 4.5 -160
Canada has a few players who can go off in the scoring department. SGA is chief among them, but he doesn’t need to be the leading scorer for Canada to win most games. That doesn’t mean SGA can’t fill it up against Giannis Antetokounmpo and company. The problem is, his total is set at 24.5 when he’s maxed out at 13 shot attempts in Canada’s exhibition games.
With the games counting now, that shot volume could certainly increase. But again, it doesn’t need to be elevated game-to-game. What is necessary: SGA creating offense for others, just like he did against France and Puerto Rico.
SGA went over his 4.5 assists line in two of Canada’s warm-up games. The only game in which he went under, the point guard was lined up against the daunting Team USA roster. Greece may have Antetokounmpo, but they are far from the U.S.
Sunday
Serbia vs. United States
Stephen Curry over 14.5 points -115
The highest individual point total in this game belongs to Nikola Jokic at 18.5. That shouldn’t come as a surprise when considering the roster he’s surrounded with as opposed to the group Steve Kerr has at his disposal.
Still, Curry at this number is compelling. He dropped 24 on Serbia when these two teams met up on July 17. More importantly, Curry has consistently been taking 10-13 shots per game over the last three games. (The majority, of which, are of course 3-point attempts). While he has gone cold from long range, we know that can’t last forever — especially not against a team he went 6-for-9 against behind the arc.
Nikola Jokic over 10.5 rebounds -110
Team USA made life very difficult for Jokic in their exhibition. He finished with 16 points on 6-for-19 shooting. That volume does make the over on his 18.5-line interesting, but I’d rather look elsewhere.
In his 28 minutes of work throughout the exhibition against Team USA, Jokic grabbed four offensive rebounds and seven defensive. He’s shown he can still put up numbers similar to his NBA season averages against this team. With the game carrying more weight than the previous, Jokic isn’t likely to struggle in this department above all others — especially when he already knows what Team USA is going to throw at him.
Place your bets at DraftKings Sportsbook or by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app.
The Crown Is Yours: Sign up for DraftKings and experience the ultimate host for games and betting experiences!
All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
