After a day off, the opening round of the men's basketball tournament carries on for action on Tuesday. In a mixture of Group A and B games, Spain vs. Greece will be the teams tipping off the slate first at 5 a.m. ET.
France will be another team taking the floor as Wemby and company will be taking on Japan at 11:15 a.m. ET. Amid the four games ahead for Tuesday, July 30; our experts hop back in to give their picks and best bets. So before you get some rest for the early start, get in on what our experts have in store.
Men's Basketball Preliminary Round Picks | Tuesday, July 30
| Time (ET) | Men's Basketball Preliminary Round Best Bets |
|---|---|
| 5 a.m. | |
| 7:30 a.m. | |
| 7:30 a.m. | |
| 11:15 a.m. | |
| 3 p.m. | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. | |
Spain vs. Greece — 5 a.m. ET
Sergio Llull Over 1.5 Threes
Sergio Lull is a 3 point merchant and should find success against Greece.
Llull is coming off a 5/15 effort against Australia in Spain’s opening game of the Olympics.
The former EuroLeague MVP almost exclusively fires from downtown at this point of his career and is a career 33.4% shooter from deep.
Greece’s opponents are getting up plenty of 3s as well. Greece was trapping often against Canada and their guard play leaves much to be desired. This should open up 3s for Llull. I’m grabbing Llull to exceed 1.5 3s and will sprinkle 3+ (+185 DK) as well.
Pick: Sergio Llull Over 1.5 Threes (DraftKings)
Australia can upset Canada in this matchup on Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know.
Team Canada has excellent guard play from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, RJ Barrett and Jamal Murray, but they are weaker on the interior. They play tough defense but are vulnerable to players that can get to the rack.
Australia has a number of players that excel on the interior from Josh Giddey, to Dyson Daniels, and even Jock Landale but a key is that you cannot completely collapse on the interior because Australia can stretch the floor from 1-5.
Additionally, Australia has enough length and athleticism to disrupt the Canadian guards on offense. Daniels is an elite point of attack defender and can make life difficult for any of SGA, RJ or Murray.
I’ll grab the 6.5 points with the underdog Australia.
Pick: Australia +6.5 (DraftKings)
Canada vs. Australia — 7:30 a.m. ET
Jock Landale Over 13.5 Points (-105)
Jock Landale continues to lead Australia as a scoring threat from the interior that also is capable of stretching the floor with the shorter 3 point line.
Landale dropped 20 points on 9/14 shooting against a tough Brazil team who loves to muck things up and disrupt Pace.
Here, while Canada has elite point of attack defense from the guard position, they should struggle on the interior.
In 5 games where he played 20+ minutes he exceeded 10.5 Points in 4 of the 5 and averaged 15.2 ppg and if we extend this back to the last Olympics, he averages 14.87 in 10 games of 20+ minutes played.
I’m fine at 12.5 (juiced) but think at the current price 13.5 (-105) is the best way to play this Aussie.
Pick: Jock Landale Over 13.5 Points (-105) (ESPN BET)
Victor Wembanyama is a mismatch nightmare for Japan and should thrive as the primary option.
The tallest player on Japan’s roster is Josh Hawkinson who is 6’10” and they have gotten destroyed on the interior when facing top teams. They just allowed a combined 33 points to Germany’s centers.
Wemby is a transcendent talent and played 31 minutes against Brazil while dominating on both ends of the floor. Wemby is scoring about .75 points per minute of play during this Olympic cycle against significantly tougher competition than Japan. And he averaged 23.5 ppg after the ASB of his rookie season.
I expect him to exceed 21.5 points against Japan.
Pick: Victor Wembanyama Over 21.5 Points (DraftKings)
Brazil vs. Germany — 3 p.m. ET
Daniel Theis Over 0.5 Blocks
Why not?
Daniel Theis didn't get a block in 20 minutes against Japan, but Brazil poses a better match-up in regards to this prop.
Brazil attacks more — they shot 36 twos to just 21 threes against the Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama led France frontcourt in Game 1, and present one of the smaller rotations in the Olympics.
Theis was Germany's leading shot blocker in the World Cup last year with five in eight games and logged about 22 minutes per. Brazil's offensive attacks should give you plenty stabs at this, especially since Germany will look to push the pace to stay out of Brazil dragging them into a surprisingly close game (and potential upset) as they've done in recent major competitions, like their 69-65 win over Canada last year.
