USA vs Czech Republic Prediction: Olympic Basketball Picks

July 29, 2021

USA vs Czech Republic is the final group stage game for each team in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Both teams enter this contest at 1-1, having won against Iran and lost to France previously in the tournament. As a result, this matchup will be huge in determining where each side ends up heading into the knockout rounds.

USA vs Czech Republic Betting Pick

USA vs Czech Republic Pick: USA -23 (-115)

The USA bounced back from its opening game loss to France, demolishing Iran in the second game of their preliminary campaign. As expected, the 120-66 victory for the Americans saw the United States produce more on the offensive end, with the perimeter shooting of Team USA being much better than it was against the French. And while the Czech Republic is a tougher test than Iran, the USA offense should continue to get what it wants.

In addition to the three point shooting and quality of opponent in game two of the preliminary campaign, the big difference for the Americans in game two was the production of Devin Booker and Khris Middleton. Those two players combined to make just one field goal against France, but converted on 10 of their 15 field goal attempts against Iran. If they can continue to be efficient, now that their jet lag concerns have lessened, this USA team may not have much competition going forward.

For the Czech Republic, it is hard not to be disappointed in their campaign thus far. They were huge favorites against Iran, only to barely hold on against them in a tight contest. The Czechs then lost to France by 20 points, relinquishing a six-point lead at the end of the first quarter and trailing by as many as 26 points in the second half. Now they face an even stiffer test against an American team that appears to be finding its rhythm.

If the Czechs are going to put pressure on the United States in this game, they are going to have to get scoring from more sources than they are currently. Only six players scored for them in the loss to France, with four double-figure scorers in that contest for the Czech team. While Tomas Satoransky and Jan Vesely have NBA experience for the Czech Republic, the US should be able to key in on them due to the lack of scoring depth for this side.

USA vs Czech Republic basketball has been contested just once before this matchup, with that contest taking place in 2019 at the FIBA World Cup. The Americans won that game by 21 points in the group stage, despite the fact that the American World Cup team featured fewer stars than the current Olympic team. Vesely was out for the Czech team as well, so there isn’t a real frame of reference to draw from in that World Cup game.

The key to this contest is going to be the number of ways that each team has to beat the other. Team USA has so many more scorers than the Czech Republic, and that will result in the Czech scoring threats having to face more contested opportunities than they are comfortable with. Expect the United States to lock down Vesely and Satoransky, and to beat up on the Czech Republic en route to a 2-1 group stage record.

USA vs Czech Republic Pick: USA -23 (-115)

Olympic Basketball Betting FAQ

Is the USA still the favorite to win the tournament?

The United States is indeed still the favorite to win the Olympic men’s basketball gold medal. The Americans enter the final game of the group stage at -235 to win the gold, with no other team at better than 7/1 to take down the gold medal. Those odds speak to the potential of the United States, even if they didn’t play well in their opening game.

Is Luka Doncic the best player in the Olympics?

Right now, it is hard to deny that Luka Doncic is playing the best basketball of anyone in the Olympics. His 48-point performance in the first group stage win for Slovenia set the tone for the entire tournament, and he is averaging over 35 points per game through two games so far. He is a matchup nightmare for anyone left in the tournament, and Slovenia’s odds to win gold have improved to 8/1 as a result.

What happened to Nigeria?

It turns out that Nigeria just was not as good as they looked during the warmup campaign, when they beat the Americans in an exhibition contest. The shooting of Nigeria just hasn’t kept up, and their reliance on players like Jahlil Okafor hasn’t gone as well as they had hoped to this point.

Jay
Jay Sanin
Jay Sanin is a sports writer and broadcaster from Albany, NY. He has covered sports betting and the gambling industry since 2013.