Team USA is back in action for the first time since crushing Serbia 110-84. Up next for the U.S. at the Olympics is South Sudan, who defeated Puerto Rico 90-79 in their opening matchup. But before those two round out Wednesday’s slate, Serbia and Puerto Rico will square off.
Puerto Rico vs. Serbia
Tremont Waters over 16.5 points -115
There are two major factors at play with this pick.
First is volume, naturally. Waters played 30 minutes and took a team-high 19 shots in Puerto Rico’s loss vs. South Sudan to open group play. He didn’t come anywhere near those numbers in the exhibition games. But, of course, it’s in the actual Olympics games that count where we see a team’s true players take on a heavier workload.
Second is the matchup. Serbia is Nikola Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic. That should be enough to win this game, but not enough to completely shut down Puerto Rico’s best scorers.
Nikola Jokic over 20.5 points -125
As mentioned above with Waters, Puerto Rico doesn’t have the means to slow down Jokic. No one does beyond Team USA. Even then, he still went 8-for-15 on Sunday. This isn’t Denver where Jokic can work equally as a facilitator and scorer. He has to provide points for Serbia to win — as much as they are heavy favorites vs. Puerto Rico. And for Serbia to have a chance to advance, this is a must-win.
United States vs. South Sudan
LeBron James over 6.5 assists +114
South Sudan made things interesting when these two teams met back on July 20, forcing a 101-100 finish. Although Team USA had to play another tight contest after that one-point win, those were still exhibition games. Those contests meant a lot more to everyone else than Team USA. And if you aren’t buying into that line of logic, look at this Olympics contest’s 29.5-point spread.
With the blowout potential of the game, it becomes harder to decipher who will lead this team in scoring — as much as James has been the only player with double-digit field goal attempts in each of the last three games. But even if this game is a blowout, that’s not going to stop James from working as a facilitator. While he didn’t go over this number in Team USA’s first few exhibition games, it is a number he’s gone over in two of their last three.
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.
