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Team U.S.A. breezed through the preliminary of the FIBA World Cup without any issues. They are 3-0 in the Philippines and have the competition’s second-best point-differential at plus-103, however that came versus the fairly uninspiring competitors of Group C. Now, in the 2nd group stage, things will get a bit harder.
Up initially for Team U.S.A.? Montenegro and the hardest NBA gamer the Americans have actually dealt with in the competition so far: Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic. At 20.7 points per video game, Vucevic is balancing the sixth-most points in the competition and is outscoring all of Team U.S.A.’s stars. Here’s how you can tune in as Team U.S.A. efforts to decrease the two-time All-Star huge male.
Team U.S.A. vs. Montenegro
- Date: Friday, Sep. 1 | Time: 4:40 a.m. ET
- Location: Mall of Asia Arena — Manila, Philippines
- television channel: ESPN2 | Live stream: fubo (shot for totally free)
- Odds: Team U.S.A. -25.5 | O/U: 181
Storylines
Team U.S.A. made a substantial lineup modification prior to Wednesday’s win over Jordan by benching All-Star Brandon Ingram in favor of function gamer (and previous Lakers colleague) Josh Hart. The relocation is unexpected on paper just. Ingram is the more declared gamer, however has actually had a hard time strongly by balancing simply 4.7 points per video game. Hart, on the other hand, has actually prospered as a rebounder, protector and shift threat. The relocation paid dividends versus Jordan, and Steve Kerr has actually devoted to staying with it, however Team U.S.A. is definitely hoping that Ingram can discover his groove once again eventually in the competition.
Team U.S.A.’s 3-0 record in the very first group stage has actually managed it a little bit of breathing space in the 2nd. The leading 2 groups from each brand-new group advance to the knockout phase, therefore long as Team U.S.A. beats Lithuania on Sunday, Friday’s result eventually does not matter. But Montenegro went 2-1 in the preliminary and should beat both Team U.S.A. and Greece to advance. That successfully makes this a removal video game for them, so Team U.S.A. can anticipate to get their best shot on Friday.
Prediction
Montenegro might have advanced to the 2nd round, however that was mostly due to wins over lower-ranked rivals. Defeating Mexico and Egypt is great, however a 20-point loss to Lithuania is an even more precise procedure of how well this group can take on leading competitors. Team U.S.A. is much more hazardous, and is relatively rounding into kind at the best time. Team U.S.A. has actually covered this 25.5-point spread in all 3 of its video games up until now. Why should Friday be any various? The Pick: Team U.S.A. -25.5
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