COLORADO ROCKIES @ SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS – 7:15pm
The Rockies are in San Francisco tonight to kick off their final regular season series against the Giants. These divisional foes have already played each other 9 times this season with the Giants owning the matchup so far with 6 wins. These teams did just have a 3 game series a week ago in Colorado with the Rockies winning the series 2-1 but the key here is where the game is being played. The Giants are undefeated this year playing against the Rockies at home. They have outscored them at home by a very large margin, 28 runs to 10. The Rockies currently have the 2nd worst away record in baseball with only 14 wins on the road all season. The Rockies who are used to playing in their very batter friendly stadium of Coors Field will have to adjust to the very pitcher friendly conditions of Oracle Park. Kyle Freeland who is the projected starting pitcher tonight for the Rockies has not won a game in San Francisco since 2021. Giants starting pitcher Kyle Harrison is 3-1 against the Rockies in his career. A bet on the run line in this game is not a bad play but at the very least I like the Giants to win this game tonight.
The Pick: Giants Moneyline
BRAZIL VS. FRANCE – SATURDAY 8:15am
France comes into this matchup against Brazil as a heavy favorite for good reason. Reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert headlines this squad along with Defensive Player of the Year runner up and NBA Rookie of the Year winner Victor Wembanyama. With the two best defenders in the world in their starting five (who both happen to be over 7ft tall) this is a team that is going to wreak havoc in the paint and make the game difficult for their opponents on the defensive end. Remember no defensive 3 in the key and looser rules on goaltending will apply in these games which only benefits Gobert and Wemby. Luckily their first game in pool play is against the worst team in the entire Olympic tournament as Brazil features only 1 active NBA player on its 12 man roster and I guarantee you’ve never heard of him (Gui Santos). Brazil has only 1 listed center on their roster, 6-10 Cristiano Felicio who is a former 6 year NBA veteran with the Chicago Bulls who spent much of his career in the G-League. Look for Brazil to struggle heavily in this matchup with no quality players to counter the height and length of Gobert and Wemby. Prop bets on Wembanyama to score are not a bad play here. I like Gobert rebounds in this matchup. Looking back at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Gobert had 8 or more Rebounds in 5 out of the 6 games he played throughout the course of the tournament and it should be a reliable pick in this matchup with the lack of size and talent on this Brazil team.
The Pick: Rudy Gobert 8+ Rebounds
SERBIA VS. UNITED STATES – SUNDAY 8:15am
Team USA kicks off its Gold Medal campaign at the Paris Olympics this coming Sunday morning with it’s first group play matchup against 3 time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and team Serbia. These teams recently played an exhibition game leading up to the Olympics with team USA winning 105-79. While Team USA remains a large favorite in this game (as they should be) team Serbia will be bringing an improved lineup into this next matchup with the additions of Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdonovic as well as Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic. Team USA is expected to miss the services of all time Olympic leading scorer Kevin Durant for this game. With Durant out, look for Anthony Edwards to assume a larger role in this team’s offense. He averaged 13 points per game over the 5 exhibition warm up games played and those were games that didn’t count towards the Olympics. As a young player that is looking to grow his profile and compete to be one of the faces of the NBA over the next 10 years this is about as good of a stage as he can get to showcase his talent and grow his brand. While team USA showcases many players who can score a lot on any given night Edwards is a shoe-in to receive substantial playing time being one of the younger and healthier players that coach Steve Kerr can rely on as an elite scorer and defender. I like a prop bet on Anthony Edwards points in this game. You could take him for 10+ points to be conservative. His line is currently sitting at 12.5 on FanDuel and based on the exhibition game averages and Kevin Durant remaining out he should be capable of getting 13+ points in this game.
The Pick: Anthony Edwards OVER 12.5 points.