2024 Paris Olympics Basketball Odds & Picks: Sunday (7/28)
The United States Men’s Basketball team will begin their journey in the Paris Olympics this morning. They’ll take on Serbia at 11:15 am ET in Group C.
We’ll predict that game along with an exciting women’s basketball matchup between Serbia and Puerto Rico. Check out all of the analysis below.
Get instant alerts when a line reaches your target via the BettingPros App >>
Sunday’s Best Men’s Olympic Basketball Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
USA vs. Serbia
While the USA men’s basketball team has had an underwhelming start, they’re still the favorites to win it all this year. It’s for good reason. The USA is stacked with talent. But now, that talent needs to learn how to play with one another.
Ultimately, the USA has been weak on the defensive end and continues to make really lazy passes. The turnovers got way too high in the exhibition games. But now that it’s time for the real thing. Expect this group to dial in much more than before.
Kevin Durant isn’t fully healthy. Even if he does play, it’s unlikely he’ll get many minutes. Meanwhile, Joel Embiid will have a lot on his hands with Nikola Jokic. But guard play should be the major x-factor in this game. While the USA struggled a lot earlier in the exhibition play, they found a way to defeat this same Serbia team, 105-79.
Jokic had 16 points in that game, but he also had a -27 +/-, the worst +/-on the team in that matchup against the USA.
On the other hand, Stephen Curry dropped 24 points in the win. A couple of the USA guys will step up and get hot. Take USA -13.5 (-108).
Pick: USA -13.5 (-110)
Puerto Rico vs. Serbia (Women’s)
Serbia is already a 17.5-point favorite against Puerto Rico heading into this game. Serbia has some legitimate talent, including Yvonne Anderson, a former University of Texas women’s basketball player. She’ll play alongside UCLA guard, Angelica Dugalic, who figures to get plenty of work.
Serbia is expected to be strong defensively, but Puerto Rico still has some good offensive players to keep this game close.
Arella Guirantes and Mya Hollingshed should give the team quality offense. Guirantes played at Rutgers, and it wasn’t long ago that Hollingshed was the No. 8 overall pick in the WNBA Draft.
However, in 2021, Puerto Rico never scored more than 69 points and lost games to Australia, Belgium, and China. Meanwhile, Serbia only lost to Team USA by 20 points and defeated the same China team that beat Puerto Rico 97-55. Therefore, the spread favors Serbia heavily for a reason. Let’s take Serbia at -17.5 (-112).
Pick: Serbia -17.5 (-112)