The two winless teams in Group A of the men’s basketball tournament in the 2024 Olympics face off in an early matchup (for those in the United States) on Tuesday.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece will take on Spain after both teams dropped their pool play opener on Saturday. Spain, despite having several players with NBA experience, was unable to knock off a tough Australian team while Greece lost by seven to Canada, who is widely considered as the biggest threat to Team USA in the tournament.
Oddsmakers have taken notice of Greece's play, favoring it by four points in this pool play matchup. With both teams desperately needing a win to keep their chances of advancing to the knockout stage alive, we should be in for a great contest on Tuesday.
Here’s a breakdown of the odds, key players to watch and my best bet for Greece vs. Spain.
Greece vs. Spain Odds, Spread and Total
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Spread
- Greece -4 (-110)
- Spain +4 (-110)
Moneyline
- Greece: -185
- Spain: +154
Total
- 163 (Over -112/Under -108)
Greece vs. Spain How to Watch
- Date: Tuesday, July 30
- Time: 5:00 a.m. EST
- Venue: Pierre Mauroy Stadium
- How to Watch (TV): Peacock
- Greece record: 0-1
- Spain record: 0-1
Greece vs. Spain Key Players to Watch
Greece
Giannis Antetokounmpo: A two-time NBA MVP, Antetokounmpo nearly willed Greece to a win over a very tough Canada squad, scoring 34 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field. Giannis’ points prop is all the way up at 29.5 in this game, which makes sense since he was one of two players in double figures in Saturday’s loss.
Spain
Santi Aldama: If Spain is going to have a chance to get out of Group A, Aldama will need to shoot as well as he did in the loss to Australia. The Memphis Grizzlies forward made six shots from beyond the arc and scored 27 points to lead Spain. He’s set at 16.5 points in the prop market for this matchup with Greece.
Greece vs. Spain Prediction and Pick
As great as Antetokounmpo is, I’m seriously worried about this Greece offense and how it will score against Spain, who has some bigger bodies to throw at the former NBA MVP.
Aldama, Willy Hernangomez and Juancho Hernangomez are all big bodies and could be used to match up with Giannis, which means someone else on the Greece team has to step up for it to win and cover. Even with Giannis scoring 34 points in the pool play opener, it wasn’t enough to get Greece over the hump.
Now, I’m not exactly sold on Spain’s opening showing either after it shot below 40 percent from the field, but it did hit 12 shots from beyond the arc – three more than the Greeks , who shot just 28.1 percent from 3 in their opener.
In a game that both teams really need to position themselves to advance, I’ll take Spain to cover the spread as an underdog.
Pick: Spain +4 (-110)
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Greece vs. Spain Olympic Basketball Prediction, Odds and Key Players for Group A.
