Posted:
#1
Well, we only get this tournament once every 4 years so lets make the best of it!
Current lines for opening day are:
Nigera -8.5 vs. Tunisia
USA -24.5 vs. France [this line has dropped a few points since opening]
Brazil -6.5 vs. Australia
Not sure how closely anyone reading this has followed the friendly matches and/or the qualifiers.
If anyone has something to add, feel free. I feel that Nigeria should do quite well against Tunisia (unfortunately I've never seen them play). The Nigerians have a very athletic team but it is hard to say how they will respond on the Olympic stage.
Tunisia on the other hand qualified against fairly week competition. Many of their players play professionally in Tunisia. Not sure what style of basketball they play but they do have some size...
7'1 Salah Merji won the MVP for Tunisia during the tournament that awarded them a berth into the Olympics. He only averaged 8.9 points but he had 2.43 blocks/game.
Personally, I want to say Nigeria can cover the 8.5.
Most of the Nigerian players were raised in the USA and have played basketball in NCAA and for some, the NBA.
I'm not sure if this will play a part in Nigeria's motivation for this game, but the 7'1 player I mentioned earlier, Salah Merji, basically wrote Nigeria off saying they didn't have a chance at the qualifier because their players do not play as a team...
The Nigerians play an uptempo style of basketball which can be a little chaotic at times. I know the line is set to take some Nigerian $, because really, who the fuck is going to bet on Tunisia..Hopefully with this being the first game for both teams that this line is soft in Nigeria's favor.
Best of luck everyone, 7 days until the glorious Olympic Basketball begins!
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