Olympic Basketball Showcases Two NBA Greats

Greece vs. Canada, 3:00 ET

For those who have followed me for years, you probably are well aware that my favorite sport is basketball. I love college hoops, professional, women's, and pretty much any other form that is out there. The Olympics launched yesterday with the Opening Ceremony, and now we are treated to a variety of games today on the hardwood. There are some good early morning matchups, but without question, the best game of the day is this one between Greece and Canada. We can make it even more enjoyable by making a bit of coin on it, so let's do it.

In order to understand a basketball team, you need to know the rosters so here is what we have for Team Greece: 

• Giannis Antetokounmpo
• Nick Calathes
• Vassilis Charalampopoulos
• Nikos Chougkaz
• Panagiotis Kalaitzakis
• Giannoulis Larentzakis
• Konstantinos Mitoglou
• Dimitrios Moraitis
• Georgios Papagiannis
• Kostas Papanikolaou
• Vassilis Toliopoulos
• Thomas Walkup

If you have only heard of one of those guys, that's not much of a surprise as the star of the team is clearly Giannis. He will be the main feature of the team on both offense and defense. Overall, Giannis is the only person on the team who is in the NBA, but that doesn't mean you should discount the rest of the players. All of the remaining teammates play professionally in Greece or another European country. While the Euro league is not quite the level of NBA competition, keep in mind they play a different type of basketball and three of the top five players in the NBA right now are from Europe. In their two warm up games, Greece went just 1-1, beating Puerto Rico, but losing to Serbia. The win over Puerto Rico was a nail-biter as they narrowly escaped with a 67-65 score. They were then blown out by Serbia, losing by 22. 

Jul 26, 2024; Paris, FRANCE; Giannis Antetokounmpo holds the Greek flag as their boat passes by during the Opening Ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Nelles-USA TODAY Sports

For team Canada, their roster has significantly more recognizable names, but let's share their roster as well: 

• Nickeil Alexander-Walker
• RJ Barrett
• Khem Birch
• Dillon Brooks
• Luguentz Dort
• Melvin Ejim
• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
• Trey Lyles
• Jamal Murray
• Andrew Nembhard
• Kelly Olynyk
• Dwight Powell

Team Canada is bolstered by ten of their twelve players being active on NBA rosters. It isn't enough to just be active though - these are almost all starters on rosters or at least reasonable role players. Offensively, they have Gilgeous-Alexander, one of the MVP finalists and best scorers in the midrange. His game will translate to any rules because he is so good at getting to his spot. He's a very efficient free-throw shooter as well. Jamal Murray, of the Denver Nuggets, is one of the heat wave scorers. When he is on, it is almost like he can't miss. Barrett isn't a very efficient scorer, but he should play his role well - stand by the three point line and shoot or drive when he gets the ball. I even like Andrew Nembhard to be a good role player that can chip in both offense and defense when needed. Defensively is where Team Canada will struggle the most, but I think it is on the interior as Dort and Alexander-Walker are two of the better defenders in the league. Even though Brooks is annoying and a pest, he is still a solid and physical defender. 

The hardest part of this game for Team Canada will be the same difficult part most of them deal with in the NBA - stopping Giannis. The Greek Freak is still the best player on the floor and seemingly can make it down the court in five or fewer dribbles. Powell and Olynyk will probably see significant minutes to put some height on him. Team Greece doesn't have the offensive firepower outside of Giannis. Personally, I think Team Canada could see Team USA in the Gold Medal Game (if the bracket lines up that way). The point is that Team Canada is one of the best and Giannis will need to play out of his mind to keep this competitive. Canada knows they can't let him do that, so they should easily cover this -7 spread. Back Canada in this one to start the Olympics off right.

For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024