Australia vs Greece Preview and Prediction for 2024 Paris Olympics Basketball | August 2
Australia and Greece will square off in a high-stakes 2024 Paris Olympics Men's Basketball Group A game on Friday. Both countries are still in the race for the quarterfinals, with Canada being the only nation from Group A that has already qualified for the knockouts.
Josh Giddey-led Australia began their campaign with a 92-80 win against Spain on Saturday. The Boomers competed hard in the next game against Canada but suffered a 93-83 loss on Tuesday.
On the contrary, Greece are yet to win a game in the ongoing Summer Games. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. began their campaign with an 86-79 loss against Canada on Saturday before going down 84-77 against Spain on Tuesday.
ALSO READ: How can Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece still qualify for Paris Olympics quarterfinals? All scenarios explained
Australia vs. Greece: Preview, prediction and odds
Australia vs. Greece Olympics men's basketball game is scheduled to take place on August 2, Friday, at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille, France. The tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. ET (4:30 a.m. PT). The game will not be telecast live but fans will have the option to live stream the game on Peacock and Fubo.
Moneyline: Australia (-230) vs. Greece (+190)
Spread: Australia (-6) vs. Greece (+6)
Total over/under: Australia O169 (-110) vs. Greece U169 (-110)
Editor's note: Odds could change closer to the game. The odds listed were as per available information at the time of writing.
Australia vs. Greece: Preview
In terms of the overall head-to-head record, Australia and Greece have squared off against each other three times. Greece has won two games compared to the Boomers' one victory. Australia and Greece have faced each other twice in the Olympics with the former winning in 1996 and the latter emerging victorious in 2004.
Australia has been excellent in terms of 3-point shooting. The country is shooting 40.8% from beyond the arc and is ranked second among all teams with Team USA leading the pack with 50%.
Josh Giddey and Jock Landale lead the team in scoring as both players are averaging 18 points per game. Giddey has also been the primary ball handler for Australia and the Chicago Bulls' star is ranked fourth in assists with seven dimes per game.
The Boomers need to be more disciplined and cut down on their turnovers against Greece. Australia is ranked second-worst in the category with 17 turnovers per game.
On the flip side, Greece is sweating over the fitness of their floor general, Nick Calathes. The 35-year-old point guard suffered a rib injury in the previous game against Spain and was rushed to the hospital.
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been phenomenal and leads all players in points. The two-time NBA MVP is averaging 30.5 points per game and leads the team in rebounds with eight boards per game.
Greece ranks third-worst in points per game despite Giannis' heroics on the offensive end. The lack of support for the one-time NBA champion has been a major problem for Greece. In a do-or-die game, Vassilis Spanoulis would expect his players to compliment Giannis in a better manner.
Australia vs. Greece: Predicted starting 5s
Australia: Josh Giddey, Patty Mills, Dyson Daniels, Nick Kay and Jock Landale.
Greece: Thomas Walkup, Nick Calathes, Georgios Papagiannis, Kostas Papanikolaou and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Australia vs. Greece: Prediction
Australia are slight favorites to win the game against Greece, especially because of the depth in their roster. Greece has been a one-man wrecking crew so far that has not yielded any positive results.
Expect Giddey to lead Australia to another victory and eliminate Giannis-led Greece from the quarterfinals race.