In one of the most thrilling games in Olympic men’s basketball history, the United States rallied from 17 points down to defeat Serbia 95-91 on Thursday. They will take on France, who defeated Germany 73-68. France will be playing in front of a raucous home crowd and also highly motivated after losing to the United States in the gold medal game in Tokyo. Mathias Lessort is one player who might have an impact off the bench.
Stephen Curry led the way for the United States with 36 points against Serbia. Against France, Joel Embiid may take the lead with a few baskets set up by Devin Booker.
Mathias Lessort Over 6.5 Points (-130) via DraftKings
3:30 p.m. ET | NBC
In his last two games against Canada and Germany, Lessort is averaging 11.5 points per game. That coincides with the reduced role of Rudy Gobert, who has played just nine minutes in the last two games. Gobert may see more time against the United States considering how well he knows the American players. However, France also has looked much better with him off the floor.
Lessort has still come off the bench the last two games, but he has taken advantage of his minutes. He has attempted 18 free throws in the last two games and went 4-for-5 from the field against Germany. Scoring against the United States will be more difficult than the last two games.
France will need him to step up given the attention will likely be on Victor Wembanyama and Evan Fournier. I prefer backing Lessort compared to Guerschon Yabusele, whose line is at 13.5 points.
Joel Embiid Over 12.5 Points (-120) via BetMGM
3:30 p.m. ET | NBC
If Gobert does end up playing more minutes against the United States, that will be music to the ears of Embiid. In Embiid's last three games against Gobert, he scored 32, 39, and 51 points. He also scored 70 points in his lone meeting against Wembanyama.
Unlike with the 76ers, Embiid is not the focal point of Team USA's offense. However, he scored 19 points on Thursday against Serbia. He's hit this line in each of the past three games while averaging 16 points per game and playing over 20 minutes in two of them.
Additionally, Embiid has been the target of many boos because he chose to play for the United States instead of France. Embiid loves to rile up opposing fans and it would be not a surprise if he has a little extra motivation to quiet the French crowd as the United States goes for gold.
Devin Booker Over 2.5 Assists (+100) via DraftKings
3:30 p.m. ET | NBC
Devin Booker quietly has been a strong secondary playmaker for the United States in these Olympics. He had five and six assists in consecutive games against Serbia and South Sudan when his assist line was not available. For the past two games, his line appeared at 3.5 and he ended up going under. However, 2.5 assists I believe is a sweet spot.
Against France, Jrue Holiday will be coming off the bench as his defensive prowess is not essential against France's guards. That will take another playmaker off the floor with Kevin Durant replacing him. Booker and Durant played together for the United States in Tokyo and have been teammates in Phoenix for the last year and a half. The two have very strong chemistry and Booker could very easily get a pair of assists just to Durant and then we will only need one more.
Given how well the United States rotates the ball, there will be open looks from his passes. Booker has hit this line in three of his last five games and will have a strong chance to continue that trend. If he has another game with five assists, you can also back him to have five assists at +500 on DraftKings.
