We’re onto the knockout stage of the Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament, and it begins with a four-game slate on Tuesday, August 6. I’m yet to place any wagers on these games (as I write this article a day in advance), but there are a few standing out to me. Let’s take a look.
Australia vs. Serbia
Canada vs. France
Serbia/Canada ML Parlay (-139)
I think the favorites should do pretty well on Tuesday’s slate, but we’re laying a lot of points. The two that we can pair together for a reasonable price on a ML parlay would be Serbia and Canada. I think we can make the easier case for Canada here, which has been really strong thus far with a roaster loaded with NBA talent. Yes, the home country of France has Victor Wembanyama and some other talent, but they’ve been wildly overrated thus far — coming off getting trounced by Germany. Canada is the closest thing in the field to team USA, and I expect them to handle business against France.
Serbia will have its hands full with some of the Australian guards, but I do feel they should have enough to combat the backcourt. If Serbia can just be solid, expect Nikola Jokic to be the difference in the game. Aside from the loss to the USA, Serbia has handled business thus far in Paris. I expect more of the same here by the team with a significant size advantage.
Brazil vs. USA
Stephen Curry OVER 2.5 Made Threes (-145)
Curry cashed the over on this number in the Olympic opener against Serbia, going 3-for-7 from downtown. Since then, he’s had an off-game against South Sudan (0-of-6) and then shot 2-for-6 against Puerto Rico, but played less than 18 minutes in the blowout. USA is a massive favorite again here versus Brazil, but coming off so few minutes played and entering the knockout round, I’d expect to see something closer to 25 minutes here for Curry. Coming off going just 2-for-12 from behind the line in his last two games combined, I’m looking for a nice bounce-back here from Curry in a favorable matchup.
LeBron James OVER 6.5 Assists (+105)
This is my favorite of the three plays I’m writing up. James is over this number in two of the three games so far, so I’m a bit surprised at the plus-money. LeBron stayed under with just five assists in 20 minutes in the matchup against South Sudan, but went for nine dimes in 26 minutes in the opener against Serbia and eight assists in just 18 minutes last time out against Puerto Rico. Much like Curry, with LeBron playing 20 or fewer minutes in two games in a row, I could see him playing closer to 25 minutes in a more important game. If we get that volume, we should see LeBron, who is now the odds on favorite to win MVP, continue to be the head of the snake for team USA.
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All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.
