Team USA vs Serbia Preview and Prediction for 2024 Paris Olympics Basketball | August 8

Team USA meets Nikola Jokic and Serbia for the third time this summer on Thursday. After an exhibition matchup between the two heavyweights in Abu Dhabi, they squared off in the group stage phase of the 2024 Paris Olympics Men's basketball in their respective openers.

The USA emerged winners by wide margins on both occasions. However, the stakes are much higher in their upcoming contest as it's a one-and-done semifinal contest. The winner advances to the gold medal game, while the loser will play the bronze medal matchup.

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Team USA vs Serbia, Odds, Preview and Prediction for 2024 Paris Olympics Basketball

Team USA vs. Serbia Paris Olympics semifinal game will begin at 3:00 pm ET at Bercy Arena in Paris. NBC will broadcast the contest, while fans can view the matchup online via Peacock.

Here are the game's odds:

Money line: Team USA -1450, Serbia +850

Spread: Team USA -16 (-112), Serbia +16 (-108)

Total over/under: Team USA O187.5 (-108), Serbia U187.5 (-110)

Editor's note: The odds could change closer to the game.

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Team USA vs. Serbia Preview 2024 Paris Olympics Basketball

Team USA is coming off a 4-0 run, steamrolling past every opponent with little to no resistance. That includes a 110-84 win over Tuesday's counterparts. The Americans went lights out from long range, making 18 of 32 shots. Serbia, meanwhile, struggled to match that, converting only nine shots in 37 tries.

They had no answers for the USA's depth. With Kevin Durant and Anthony Edwards, among others, coming off the bench, the USA's second unit outscored Serbia's 47-23, which proved critical to their success. The Americans outperformed their European opponents in almost every facet of the game but one.

Serbia was the better team in scoring off turnovers, tallying 25 points. With the Americans prone to losing the ball often, Nikola Jokic and Co. may look to gain an advantage while improving their 3-point shooting numbers.

Meanwhile, the USA will aim to maintain efficiency on offense, as that has been key to their success.

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Team USA vs. Serbia Predicted Starting 5s

USA

PG - Steph Curry, SG - Devin Booker, SF - Jrue Holiday, PF - LeBron James, C - Joel Embiid

Serbia

PG - Aleksa Avramovic, SG - Bogdan Bogdanovic, SF - Vanja Marinkovic, PF - Filip Petrusev, C - Nikola Jokic

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Team USA vs. Serbia Prediction

The USA are -1450 favorites to win for the third time against Serbia this summer. They haven't put a foot wrong in their Paris Olympics campaign, while Serbia has had close results despite a 3-1 run. Their only loss came against the USA.

Nikola Jokic and Co. also trailed Australia by 24 points before bouncing back in the second half to win the quarterfinals. A lot must fall in Serbia's favor if they are to cause an upset on Thursday.