China vs. USA Betting Preview
Where: Barra Olympic Park — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
When: Friday, August 6, 2016, 6:00 PM EST
Line: China (+50) vs. USA (-50); total: 171.5 – view all men’s Olympic basketball lines
TV Broadcast: NBCSP
Writer’s Pick: USA (-50)
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Offensive Edge – USA (-50)
There’s no question that the United States have the overwhelming edge in scoring. They are, after all, the hands-down favorite (-1,200) to bring home the gold medal and are headlined by several premiere superstars, who can all take over an entire game if they wanted to.One of the stars to really lookout for is team captain Kevin Durant. Everybody knows he is simply unstoppable on both sides of the hardwood and there’s only a microscopic amount of basketball players out there who can defend the 2013-14 NBA MVP. And whoever China decides to put on Durant won’t even stand a chance.
Overall, it would be extremely shocking to see this loaded U.S. squad, which destroyed Team Dragon by an average margin of 49.5 points in both of their exhibition games last month, lose here.
Defensive Edge – USA (-50)
China does have the size and length to compete against the Americans, but the same cannot be said in terms of speed, explosiveness, athleticism and overall skill. Speaking of which, projected starting center DeAndre Jordan is the perfect embodiment of that disparity.
Jordan, who averaged 12.7 points, 13.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per contest in the 2015-16 NBA season, is bound to have a feast down the paint against the Chinese. He’s way faster, stronger and more athletic compared to most of China’s big men. Jordan should be able to negate or bother every shot near him, which would force their opponents to solely rely on taking outside jumpers or low-percentage shots on offense.
The U.S. also held the Chinese to merely 57 points in their two showcase games last month.
Writer’s Prediction: The Americans (-50) dominate this one from start to finish, eventually beating China by at least 40 points. And Durant will likely lead the way with a game-high of 20 or more points.
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