The last time the United States was beaten in a match in the Olympics was in 2004. The team it faced that day? Argentina. The team which the Stars and Stripes will have to get through in order to reach the semifinals of the 2016 Summer Games? You guessed it. The draw is really tough for the Americans, but the "Dream Team" really shouldn't have any issues in this one in spite of their struggles in the last few group stage matches.
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Tournament Update
At some point, the Americans are either going to have to wake up or legitimately risk losing here and perhaps not ending up with any medal, let alone a gold medal. They did win all five of their group stage matches, each of the last three were progressively more and more interesting than they should have been and were games which came right down to the wire. That's very un-American for sure, especially ever since Mike Krzyzewski took this team over.
The Argentines were probably overstated in Group B. Many believed they had a shot to medal in this tournament, but bad losses to Spain and Lithuania saw them finish fourth in the group, the one place no team wanted to finish in knowing that the Americans were going to end up waiting in the wings.
Roster Analysis
There is some talent here on this Argentina team. Luis Scola, Manu Ginobili and Andres Nocioni have NBA ties, and Carlos Delfino has had his time in the Association in the past as well.
The United States has clearly done nothing wrong offensively in this tournament, but the fact that the club has allowed 81.4 points per game is really eye-opening. Defense has to be the key to winning gold medals in Rio, and if this team keeps giving up over 20 points per quarter, it's going to be a long road to get to the final from here.
Live Betting
The biggest thing that is going to catch up with Argentina here is age. This has been a long tournament, and the fact that the Americans didn't have to play on Monday or Tuesday while Argentina will only get off on Tuesday could be a problem. Look at the ends of these games in the group stage. Whipped by Spain in the fourth. Lucky to survive a bad Brazil team thanks to shoddy play at times in the fourth and overtime. Lost to Lithuania. Let Croatia eke back into a game which should have been over with.
If the USA senses weakness, it will absolutely strike. Physicality is going to be crucial, and if the Americans can keep that up, they should be in great shape in live betting in this one.
Quick Pick
American bettors have really been getting slaughtered in this tournament, but even for as frustrating as it is to back this team laying so many points, at some point, you'd like to think they're going to cover another game. It feels like weeks since the USA last covered against China, but if there is a game where it's going against an overrated team in a nice spot, this is it. Argentina is still good, but it isn't medal good as we see it, and we think in the second half, this game will start to finally get a bit out of hand.
Olympics Odds: United States 97, Argentina 78
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