Down To Four

The FIBA Basketball World Cup has been a welcoming dose of hoops during a period of time where the most exciting NBA-related news happens to be a Christian Wood signing 😏

• Laker updates aside, there are four squads remaining in this year’s FIBA tournament, which all boast legitimate NBA talent in Serbia, Canada, Germany and the USA

• We wanted to get you a semi-finals preview before the early morning tip-off, but a quick reminder there were a couple games earlier today that determined fourth through seventh place (results)

• One involved a locked-in Luka Doncic, who was ejected in a loss to Canada in the quarters

Lower-finishing games aside, USA will face its biggest test since losing to Lithuania tomorrow morning against an undefeated German squad. I’m not counting Lithuania as the biggest test though, since they were eliminated by Serbia…without Jokic. But honestly they dominated Team USA 🇱🇹

Led by Jonas Valanciunas, Lithuania was able to take advantage of USA’s lack of size in the front court. In order to punish the US, Germany can take cues from that game and try to limit offensive possessions by dominating both sides of the glass 💪

• But after sustaining that loss, the US bounced back in the quarter-finals with a dominant 37-pt win against Italy, led by 24 pts from Mikal Bridges

FIBA Winner Odds (subject to change)

• USA: -165

• Canada: +310

• Serbia: +850

• Germany: +900

For any believers in Serbia or Germany, a small bet on either team could end up being fruitful in a single-game elimination tournament like FIBA. Especially when Bogdanovic and Schroder are playing the way they are 👀

The key to the US advancing, outside of playing to their talents, is forcing turnovers through relentless ball pressure and switch-all defense. If they can slow down Franz Wagner, they should overmatch every other position 🤝

USA vs. Germany Betting Preview

• Spread: USA -10.5

• Moneyline: USA -600, Germany +420

• O/U: 178.5

• When: 8:30AM EST on ESPN2

Canada is a smaller favorite (-5.5) in the 4:30AM game, and with SGA playing the way he is, I like Canada to cover 🇨🇦

Trivia Question: What is the best result Germany has had in the FIBA Basketball World Cup?

For My Parlay Gurus

I’m not going to choose the outcome that has been predicted for weeks now…USA vs. Canada seems like it was destined to take place and would be the most obvious bet. Both teams are big moneyline favorites, so I’m going a different route instead. Germany has hit the under in every game this tournament, and they should play at a slower pace to limit the US’s transition attack. Here’s what I’m going with 👇

• USA vs. Germany Under 178.5 Total Points: -111

• Canada -5.5 vs. Serbia: -111

$100 on this bet would win you $261 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win up to $100*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

Want more sports content from Overtime? Check us out on TikTok 🗣

Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Join thousands of other informed subscribers

Trivia Answer: Germany has made six appearances in the tournament and finished third in 2002, securing a bronze medal and the country’s best finish

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Many will enter, only some will win. Giveaway ends 12 hours after the completion of the final game references within the giveaway. The winner will be notified via the email address used to enter. Restrictions apply. See the General Conditions and Releases sections of Overtime's Terms of Use at https://overtime.tv/terms for additional giveaway terms

©2023 Overtime Sports, Inc. All rights reserved.