The U.S. men's national basketball team narrowly escaped a ridiculous upset against a South Sudan team that they were favored to beat by 41.5 points.
Yes. You read that correctly. In a game that the U.S. was -41.5 on the spread according to DraftKings, they faced a 14-point deficit and needed a LeBron James layup down by one point with eight seconds to go to finally pull ahead for good.
James was by far the best player, finishing with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, willing the team over the finish line in a game that could have had shameful implications for the team's PR.
It was an embarrassing showing for a U.S. team that looked poised to win the tournament. And yet, their odds despite this horrific showing didn't change in the futures market at -500. The market seems to have marked this up as an anomaly.
The second-best favorite is still Canada at +1100, a team the U.S. beat handedly in warmup play. Third on the leaderboard is France at +1200, which boasts a lethal defensive combination down low in Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama. In Olympic play, there is no defensive three-second rule, meaning that twin tower combination can camp down low and prevent most drives to the basket.
The U.S. is 3-0 in warmup play, with wins against Canada and Serbia to go along with this narrow eke against South Sudan.
The team has one more test game against Germany next Monday. Then, their first game will be against Serbia on July 28 — a team they beat earlier this month 105-79.
