Men’s Olympics Basketball Picks, Odds | Preliminary Round Best Bets (Saturday, August 3)

Calling Group C to the stage! With the women's basketball tournament getting the action started first, the men's side will finish off Saturday's basketball slate with two Group C matchups on deck. First up at 11:15 a.m. ET, Team USA gets back in that mode with an assignment against George Conditt IV and Puerto Rico.

After that, sights are set on Nikola Jokic and Serbia as they prepare to meet South Sudan at 3 p.m. ET. There's nothing short of action from both sides as our experts have you covered from every angle. Let's get into the best bets for the men't basketball tournament games on Saturday, August 3.

Men's Olympics Basketball Picks, Odds | Saturday, August 3

By Bryan Fonseca

The defensive pressure will be there from South Sudan all game long, and fresh off a triple double, it poses as a game where Nikola Jokic sees doubles and is forced to distribute for a healthy portion of it.

Jokic will undoubtedly have to score if Serbia's shots aren't falling, and even that should open up passing lanes, which he'll look to find against South Sudan's length and athleticism.

Pick: Nikola Jokic Over 7.5 Assists (DraftKings)

By Joe Dellera

Nikola Jokic will lead Serbia in a win-and-in game against South Sudan.

Jokic should dominate against this smaller South Sudan team. He just destroyed Puerto Rico for 15 rebounds and I’d expect a similar opportunity here.

Jokic has now exceeded 10+ rebounds in 10/16 International games since 2022 while averaging 9.9 across those games.

Serbia should be able to handle South Sudan, but they have played everyone tough and we may see Jokic need to go extended minutes to ensure a Quarterfinals berth.

I’ll back Jokic to exceed 9.5 boards.

Pick: Nikola Jokic over 9.5 Rebounds (-125)(Bet365)

By Bryan Fonseca

This line is just low.

Filip Petrusev will be battling the South Sudan bigs as long as he's out there, and while it's hard to project another near 10-rebound effort like he had against a smaller Puerto Rico (nine actually).

Serbia will need him to log more than 16 minutes than he did last time out due to his size and activity on the glass. And against South Sudan, he's one of their most important rebounders.

Pick: Filip Petrusev Over 4.5 Rebounds (DraftKings)

Previous Olympics Picks for Earlier Games on Saturday, August 3

By Alex Hinton

After losing its first two group games by 52 points, Puerto Rico is a heavy underdog once again and its team total is 77.5 points against the United States. Center George Conditt IV is one player that I do not expect to contribute a ton to that total. Conditt averaged 11.4 points in last year's World Cup and 10.8 points in its Olympic Qualifying Tournament, but more recently, his opportunities have been reduced.

Between preliminaries and Puerto Rico's first two group games, Conditt is averaging 22.8 minutes over his last six games. In that span, he is averaging 6.3 points per game. Against the United States, Conditt will have to deal with Anthony Davis, Bam Adebayo, and Joel Embiid -who head coach Steve Kerr expects to start after not playing on Wednesday- in the paint. Kerr may use also more bigger lineups with Jrue Holiday dealing with an ankle injury. Versatile forwards like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Jayson Tatum are capable of sliding up a position and also offering weakside help defense as well.

Additionally, Puerto Rico's offense has been 3-point heavy led by Jose Alvarado and Tremont Waters. Trading 3s for 2s is Puerto Rico's best chance to remain competitive against the United States. Conditt has nine points in just one of his last six games and has not attempted more than seven shots during that span. It took him going 6-for-6 to go over against South Sudan. I do not expect that level of efficiency against the United States.

Pick: George Conditt IV Under 8.5 Points (-125) (Bet365)