France and the Czech Republic will be shooting for their second win in Group A play when they meet each other this Wednesday in a battle of 1-0 teams. Who will gain the solo lead in the group? Check out our preview of this game below.
The Czech Republic managed to avoid getting upset in their Olympics opener, defeating Iran, 84-78. The Czech might have felt so confident of their chances of winning that game after erecting a 21-point lead by the end of the third period before letting the Iranians go on a scorching 32-17 run in the final quarter. They can’t be complacent at any point of their next game, though, against the mighty French, who had just defeated Team USA. Chicago Bulls guard Tomas Satoransky will be the top player to watch out for on the side of the Czech Republic, as he has the ability to stuff the stat sheets, while the likes of Patrik Auda, Blake Schilb are solid contributors as well as Ondrej Balvin and former NBA lottery pick Jan Vesely. Schilb and Vesely had 14 and 11 points, respectively against Iran, while Balvin had nine points and eight rebounds. One thing the Czechs are looking to improve on is shooting the ball from deep after going just 6/30 on their 3-point attempts against Iran.
No team has made a louder noise in the men’s basketball tournament in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics thus far than the French, who eked out a thundering 83-76 win over Team USA. Evan Fournier outplayed the likes of Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, and Boston Celtics teammate Evan Fournier, as he came up with 28 points on 11/22 shooting from the field. Nando De Colo scored 13 points, dished out five, assists, and had a couple of steals to help out France. Meanwhile, Rudy Gobert had 14 points and nine rebounds. France has the looks of a team that could win it all in the Olympics. It’s got solid perimeter players and a fearless backcourt led by De Colo plus arguably the best defensive center in the world in Rudy Gobert. There’s also the experience and versatility being provided by Nic Batum. France, for many reasons, is unsurprisingly a big favorite against the Czech Republic.
