We’re getting to the business end of group play in the men’s basketball competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics. We have already seen quite a few teams punch their tickets to the quarterfinals, but we still have some meaningful basketball left to be played. With that in mind, this should continue to be one of the most exciting sports to watch at the Olympic Games, so we’re going to dive into the action. The schedule for Saturday, August 3rd features two games — including a meeting between Team USA and Puerto Rico. We’ll get into all of it below.
Look out for whether I label a game with LEAN or BET. I’ll be breaking down every game, but I’m not betting each one — or counting them for my record. The record below only includes games labeled BET, which will also make their way to the Pro Picks page. I’ll go a bit longer on the games I’m betting.
Olympic Basketball Record: 4-6 (-0.93 units)
MORE: Check out our Pro Picks page for everything our experts are betting!
USA vs. Puerto Rico – 11:15 am ET
This opened with Team USA laying 33.5 points and it has since moved quite a bit. I fully expect this to be a lopsided game. However, I don’t think that there’s going to be much of a drive for Team USA to wipe the floor with this team. Steve Kerr and Co. have no incentive to continue trying once this game gets ugly. They’ll be 3-0 and win Group C with a victory. So, I think we’ll see the Americans come out with a ton of intensity in the first half, putting this game out of reach for Puerto Rico relatively early on. But in the second half, it’d be surprising if Team USA continues to play with intensity on both ends of the floor. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico will likely play hard until the final buzzer to show some pride before getting bounced.
Puerto Rico also happens to have a lot of quality guards on its roster. Jose Alvarado and Tremont Waters start for the team, but there are a bunch of solid offensive options off the bench. That’s crucial because those are the guys that should get good looks when Team USA’s defense takes a step back.
Bet: Puerto Rico +35.5 (-105)
South Sudan vs. Serbia – 3:00 pm ET
South Sudan held strong against Team USA last game. The team is now 1-1 and playing for a spot in the quarterfinals. I know that Serbia has Nikola Jokic to dominate around the basket here, and South Sudan doesn’t exactly have a center that can do anything to disrupt him. However, I like the perimeter length that this South Sudan team has to disrupt the other players on Serbia. And if the guards and wings just stay at home and don’t allow Jokic to pick out open shooters, this should be a pretty close game.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Serbia wins this game rather comfortably. It’s a more talented group and a good argument can be made that this is a top-three team in the field. But South Sudan has showed up in every single game it has played thus far. And I just can’t see this team folding with its life at the Olympic Games on the line.
Look for Carlik Jones, Marial Shayok and Nuni Omot to continue to play good basketball here. Jones’ speed should be an issue for Serbia’s guards, and the other two should be able to impact games against anyone. Also, if Bul Kuol is knocking down open 3s, like he did against USA, we just might be looking at a game that goes down to the wire.
Bet: South Sudan +14 (+100)
