The Summer Games have officially arrived as the men's basketball tournament gets underway with an early 5 a.m. ET matchup between Australia and Spain. With much to represent and on the line, each country tries to put on for their home soil in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
As the opening round tips off, our experts give their best bets and picks for the Saturday, July 27 slate of games. Let's dive right on in!
Men's Basketball Preliminary Round Picks
| Time (ET) | Men's Basketball Preliminary Round Best Bets |
|---|---|
| 5 a.m. | |
| 7:30 a.m. | |
| 11:15 a.m. | |
| 3 p.m. | |
| 7:30 a.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. | |
Australia vs. Spain — 5 a.m. ET
By Joe Dellera
Jock Landale is going to excel in the paint against Spain. Jock Landale now plays for the Houston Rockets but is a member of the Australian national team.
In the Olympic preliminaries Landale was a key offensive player for the Aussies.
This matchup against Spain is an exploitable one. They have the Hernangomez Brothers and Usman Garuba on the interior but Landale is a clear threat to them on the offensive side of the ball.
In 4 games where he played 20+ minutes he exceeded 10.5 Points in 3 of the 4 and averaged 14 ppg and if we extend this back to the last Olympics, he averages 14.3 in 9 games of 20+ minutes played.
I’m grabbing Landale to exceed 10.5 points.
Pick: Jock Landale Over 10.5 points (DraftKings)
Germany vs. Japan — 7:30 a.m. ET
Pick: Andreas Obst o2.5 3's (Bet365)
France vs. Brazil — 11:15 a.m. ET
Pick: Victor Wembanyama o2.5 Turnovers (Bet365)
Greece vs. Canada — 3 p.m. ET
Georgios Papagiannis went into double figures in three of Greece's four Olympic qualifying games despite three of those being lop-sided ass whoopings.
Twice, he went over 9.5 points in less than 20 minutes.
He's 7-foot-2 and goes up against a formidable Canadian front-court, but ultimately, this is about Greece needing answers behind Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Papagiannis should be big minutes so long as the game is competitive, and because of point differential serving as an important factor in international results during group play, he should regardless because we aren't at the single elimination stage.
Pick: Georgios Papagiannis Over 9.5 points (Bet365)
Germany vs. Japan — 7:30 a.m. ET
This is just too high.
Germany beat Japan 81-63 in the World Cup last year.
Japan did cross the threshold in their four other games, but Germany is a bad match-up for a team who is the weakest of the Olympic group.
Germany is extremely physical and held six of their eight opponents under 80 points in their world championship run. Plus, point differential matters in terms of future seeding and tiebreakers, so Germany has the incentive to lock down for four quarters, as does everyone in group play.
