The FIBA World cup continues in Southeast Asia with another exciting slate of basketball for Tuesday.
Our Action Network analysts — Brandon Anderson, Joe Dellera and Bryan Fonseca — are betting multiple matchups for Tuesday morning's slate, including the spread in Germany vs. Finland and Canada vs. Latvia.
Read on for their FIBA World Cup best bets below.
| Finland Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+10.5 -110 | 172 -108o / -112u | +450 |
| Germany Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-10.5 -110 | 172 -108o / -112u | -800 |
Brandon Anderson: It’s been a disappointing World Cup for Finland. Lauri Markkanen has played well but he’s just not getting much help.
Finland got walloped in the opener, losing 98-72 to Australia. In the second set of games, Finland was favored against host Japan and instead lost by 10, even with Japanese star Yuta Watanabe having a quiet game. And with that loss, Markkanen’s team is officially Finnished at this World Cup, eliminated from moving on.
Germany is 2-0 and already safely through to the next round. Germany took care of Japan with ease, then surprised Australia by a bucket even without NBA star Franz Wagner. It wouldn’t be shocking if Wagner sat again here with Germany already safely through.
Even if he does, I’m just keeping this simple and going with the transitive property here. Germany beat two teams who both already played and beat Finland by double digits. Germany just needs to win by double digits here? Say less.
Note: I bet this at -9.5, but Caesars currently has the best line at -10.5
Pick: Germany -10.5
| Canada Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-17 -115 | 177.5 -110o / -110u | -2000 |
| Latvia Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+17 -115 | 177.5 -110o / -110u | =800 |
Bryan Fonseca: No Dairius Bertans for Latvia, no Rudy Gobert to exploit, and no French collapse pending. Canada is a very well constructed team that has high-end talent, cohesive pieces and one of the best defensive ceilings in the tournament.
I’m still skeptical of Canada as a World Cup winner, but they should hammer Latvia if they were able to beat the breaks off France by 30.
Canada’s length and athleticism is sure to give the Latvians issues, as will their speed, quickness and class on offense.
Plus, if we’re being honest, France wins that game if Nando De Colo doesn’t get sent off after the second unsportsmanlike conduct. (Latvia went on a 10-3 run immediately after, which brought them within one point.)
Hats off to Latvia for making it to Round 2, but it’s an uphill climb to cover against the Canadians. That said, if they beat France, anything is possible, I suppose, but I’m rolling with this to go sideways late.
Pick: Canada -17
Joe Dellera: Although both Canada and Latvia have secured berths into the second round of the World Cup, this game is still critically important from a seeding perspective because teams carry over their records and points into the second round. These teams should essentially be treating this matchup as the first game of the second round – I would not expect either team to rest or limit their starters.
Both Latvia and Canada have been excellent so far, scoring 98.5 and 111.5 ppg respectively. One of the similarities between these teams has been their excellence from 3-point range. Latvia is shooting an incredible 45.7% and Canada is drilling 43.9% from deep. It is more impressive because they are both top five teams in 3-point volume. Both of these teams like to push the Pace, and have sped up both France and Lebanon in their victories.
I have a lean on the over simply due to the Pace and the shooting; however, Dairis Bertans suffered a critical injury against France and likely is finished for the World Cup and Canada’s perimeter defense is some of the best in the tournament. This increased pressure could lead to more misses from Latvia.
More misses would be an obvious issue for Latvia, but it’s compounded by the lack of strong rebounding. Latvia is averaging just 29.5 Team Rebounds per game, one of the worst marks in the tournament. Compare that to Canada who is grabbing 40.5 rpg despite a relative lack of size and there should be plenty of chances for Team Canada to secure some boards.
One player that I’m targeting here is SGA. He’s secured 5, 13, 2, 8, and 8 over his last 5 International Contests and has logged 8+ in each of those games where he played more than 20 minutes. Considering the relative importance here for advancing, I expect SGA to play significant minutes and secure at least 6 rebounds.
I’d also consider 7+ (+150 Bet365). Moreover, last season in the NBA, Shai logged an Avg Rebound Distance of 8.7 feet, which was the second farthest on the Thunder. This demonstrates his ability to grab longer rebounds, which is something I expect more of against a Latvian team that lives on the perimeter offensively.
