Canada vs. Australia: 2024 Paris Olympics Men’s Basketball Picks (Tuesday)
After a day off for the Men’s Olympic Basketball Tournament, we’ve got four games on the slate for Tuesday.
The United States doesn’t play until Wednesday, but there are still a couple of games you’ll want to tune into, including the Canada-Australia matchup in Group A.
Let’s include a best bet for that game and another intriguing matchup between Brazil and Germany. Here are our top 2024 Paris Men’s Basketball picks for Canada vs. Australia.
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Tuesday’s Best Men’s Olympic Basketball Bets: Canada vs. Australia
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Canada vs. Australia
Canada’s draw in Group A was tough, but they proved they could handle it in the tournament’s first game by beating Greece.
R.J. Barrett led the charge with 23 points, while Shai Gileous-Alexander added 21 points in the win. The bench lacked a bit. Jamal Murray played the most minutes off the bench but finished with eight points and no three-pointers. In fact, Canada didn’t get a three from anyone off the bench and shot just 32% from downtown against Greece.
However, the defense held Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece to 39% from the field and just 28.1% from downtown. While Canada’s offense wasn’t spectacular, the defense did well enough to secure the win.
Now, Canada will take on Australia for their second game. Again, it won’t be an easy one. Australia already added a 92-80 win over Spain. After shooting over 50% from the floor and 50% from downtown, they had no trouble scoring. Jock Landale scored a team-high 20 points, but Patty Mills scored 19, while Josh Giddey scored 17. Ultimately, Australia’s depth doesn’t match Canada’s. We’ll see if the high amount of minutes for the Australian starters gets to them in the second game.
It feels like Australia will have to rely heavily on six players while Canada can go ten-strong and compete. I’ll back Canada at -6.5 (-102).
Pick: Canada -6.5 (-10-2)