Team USA Basketball Matchup: Team USA vs Serbia on Aug 8 (Updated Men's Olympic Basketball Odds For Today)

The pressure will begin to mount on Team USA as it attempts to move to within one win of gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and there to meet them in the semifinals is a feisty Serbian side fresh off an impressive win over Australia.

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Serbia was able to cool a very strong Australia offense and ride its defense to victory, but the one blemish on its record here in Paris was a brutal 110-84 loss to the Americans in the group stage. Can the United States replicate that offensive outburst after torching Brazil, or will we see the favorites face their first real test?

Let's get right into the best way to bet on USA vs Serbia in the 2024 Paris Olympics semifinals on Thursday, Aug 8.

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USA VS SERBIA FANDUEL ODDS FOR AUGUST 8

MONEYLINE

• UNITED STATES: -2000
• SERBIA: +920

SPREAD

• UNITED STATES: -16.5 (-108)
• SERBIA: +16.5 (-112)

OVER/UNDER (TOTAL)

• OVER: 187.5 (-112)
• UNDER: 185.5 (-108)

HEAD-TO-HEAD STATS: USA VS SERBIA

Olympic Matchups:

• Team USA leads the all-time head-to-head at the Olympics 3-0.

Last Meeting:

• 7/28/2024: United States 110, Serbia 84

2024 OLYMPIC BASKETBALL ODDS: USA VS SERBIA BEST BET

The United States is certainly riding high into this one, coming off a stunning offensive display in the quarterfinal stage which saw the squad knock down 63.8% of shots from 3-point range and put up 122 points on a fairly solid defense.

The story was the same against Serbia in the group stage, where Team USA hit 56.3% of its looks from outside and suffocated Serbia's shooters into a 24.3% night, and with the depth this team has showcased there's little doubt that things will continue against a weak Serbian perimeter defense.

• Serbia was taking on water defensively against Australia, yielding 91 points and 40.9% shooting from outside, and it was only its excellence on the offensive side of the ball which helped it move into the Olympic semifinals.

The Serbians have a ton of talented shooters like Bogdan Bogdanovic, Vasilije Micić and Nikola Jovic but it simply seemed they all had an off-night at the worst time against Team USA last week.

While I don't expect a drastic turn, I do expect more shots to fall and with that I think this one will creep over the high total set by oddsmakers.

Team USA has played with a ton of pace at these games and its opponents have gone for at least 82 points in every game, leaving the task at hand for this incredible offense to be a rather simple one.

Trust the Americans to replicate what Australia was able to do in the quarterfinals -- and then some -- and in turn force Serbia to push the tempo and rely on its forceful offense.

Best Bet: Over 187.5 Points (-112 at FanDuel)

LEBRON JAMES BETTING ODDS AND PREDICTIONS FOR USA VS SERBIA

The story at these Olympics remains the same for LeBron James, who's been asked to do everything to lift this talented group to new heights. Well, everything except for score the ball.

• The point total set by oddsmakers continues to dip for James, who's utilized his playmaking ability to create looks for his teammates and has been relied upon to proved some interior defense on smaller forwards.

James went for seven boards and nine assists against Serbia, and in his most recent contests has registered 15 assists in all with eight boards. Recency bias would seem to make this line on his rebounds and assists a sharp one, but I trust the numbers from his last game against Serbia to tell the story here.

Steve Kerr opted to play James over Jayson Tatum, and it turned out to be an excellent call as he was used on a few different Serbian wings as well as Nikola Jokic. He was able to draw the defense out and find his teammates inside, a gameplan I expect to be there once again for the Americans.

It's hard to bet on any one of James' individual totals given his high volatility at the Olympics, but the one constant seems to be that he's hawked stats in lieu of buckets over the last two weeks.

Best Bet: LeBron James Over 13.5 Rebounds and Assists (-115 at FanDuel)