The United States Men's Basketball Team has gotten off to a flying start in Rio with six tremendously impressive quarters out of eight against two inferior teams. The Americans probably aren't going to struggle with Australia on Wednesday either in their third game, but bettors will at least have to take a good, close look at the Boomers before immediately dismissing their prospects of keeping this one entertaining.
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TOURNAMENT UPDATE
So far, so good for both Australia and the United States. Both of these teams were easily supposed to advance into the knockout rounds of this tournament, and both probably already have done enough to do just that. The Americans have beaten up Venezuela and China, while Australia dismissed France and a very good Serbia team which could also be a threat to medal in men's basketball.
ROSTER ANALYSIS
When push comes to shove, Kevin Durant is the best player the Americans have here in Rio, and he's really looked the part. He only scored 16 points against Venezuela, but he made all five of his shots from the field and had five assists.
Passing the ball efficiently and daring teams to try to keep up with all of the ball movement has been crucial for Coach K's side. Kyle Lowry had nine dimes in just 17 minutes against Venezuela, and the team now has consecutive games with at least double the amount of assists as turnovers.
For Australia, it's been all about awesome shooting by Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova. These two combined to go 15-of-25 from the field, including knocking down 10-of-12 from inside the arc against Serbia. Toss in the fact that Andrew Bogut, who is playing in this tournament legitimately hurt, going 9-of-10 against France for 18 points, and the makings are there for a team which could go on a nice run in this tournament.
LIVE BETTING
The Aussies can shoot. We know that. What we don't know is whether they are going to be able to lockdown defensively. The Americans can run for sure as we stated earlier, but can Australia slow them down?
If not, Bogut is going to end up effectively out of this game, and the Australians don't have enough big men on their roster to make up for that absence if he's either physically or just effectively not there. Bogut is crucial for sure due to the fact that he's the best interior defender on the roster by a country mile, and without him, we'll be seeing another dunk party in Rio out of the Americans on Wednesday night.
QUICK PICK
We think the Americans will ultimately come out of the blocks faster in this matchup against Australia than they did against Venezuela out of the demands of Coach K, but in the end, the Aussies should have enough to stick inside of this really big spread. There's just too much really good shooting here to ultimately keep Australia from getting deep into the 60s, and with five legit NBA players opposing the "Dream Team" for the very first time in this tournament, we suspect we'll see some legitimate defense as well. The Stars and Stripes won't get to 100 in this one.
Olympics Odds: United States 91, Australia 68
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