Tokyo 2020 Men's Olympics Basketball Tournament

[morvillz7z]

« Tokyo Olympic Basketball Official Discussion Thread »

Hey everyone, the Olympics are just around the corner, as is the basketball tournament. I thought we should have a separate thread to talk, make predictions, and have fun while watching the games. The tournament begins on July 25th and concludes on August 7th. Although this is not a self-moderated thread, please do not spam!

« Participants »

                                                                                          

« Rules and Key Dates »

● 12 teams divided into 3 groups (A, B and C) playing against each other.
● First two teams in each group and the 2 best third-placed teams advance to the quarter-finals.
● FIBA has 4x 10 minute quarters. Two timeouts in the first half and three timeouts in the second half (1 minute), only coaches can call timeouts.
● FIBA courts are slightly shorter including the three-point line compared to the NBA.
● There is no basket interference when the ball is around the rim, there's also no defensive 3-second violation.
● 5 fouls allowed.

● Group Phase 25th July to 1st August
● Quarter-finals 3rd August
● Semi-finals 5th August
● Gold and Bronze medal matches 7th August

« Olympic medalists in basketball »

Games           Gold             Silver           Bronze

1936 Berlin     United States    Canada           Mexico
1948 London     United States    France           Brazil
1952 Helsinki   United States    Soviet Union     Uruguay
1956 Melbourne  United States    Soviet Union     Uruguay
1960 Rome       United States    Soviet Union     Brazil
1964 Tokyo      United States    Soviet Union     Brazil
1968 Mexico     United States    Yugoslavia       Soviet Union
1972 Munich     Soviet Union     United States    Cuba
1976 Montreal   United States    Yugoslavia       Soviet Union
1980 Moscow     Yugoslavia       Italy            Soviet Union
1984 LA         United States    Spain            Yugoslavia
1988 Seoul      Soviet Union     Yugoslavia       United States     
1992 Barcelona  United States    Croatia          Lithuania
1996 Atlanta    United States    Yugoslavia       Lithuania
2000 Sydney     United States    France           Lithuania
2004 Athens     Argentina        Italy            United States
2008 Beijing    United States    Spain            Argentina
2012 London     United States    Spain            Russia
2016 Rio        United States    Serbia           Spain

« Additional information and sources »

Olympics official website: https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/sports/basketball/
Fiba Olympics: https://www.fiba.basketball/olympics/men/2020/games
Teams Rosters: http://www.fiba.basketball/olympics/men/2020/news/-men-roster-tracker-who-has-already-confirmed-their-lineup-for-the-tokyo-games
Team Rosters: https://ca.nba.com/news/mens-basketball-2020-tokyo-olympics-preview-every-teams-roster-notable-nba-players-groups-schedule-history/5ta149z3snh410wolnu2lag9a
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Olympic_medalists_in_basketball
Complete schedule: http://www.fiba.basketball/olympics/men/2020/competition-schedule

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[morvillz7z]

Some big names are missing from the tournament, no Greece, Serbia, Lithuania, Brazil also didn't make it.

Czech Republic and Slovenia are making their first-ever Olympic appearances, the Czechs had two impressive wins over Canada and Greece to make the games, Luka qualifying his team single-handedly after an amazing triple-double in the final against Lithuania.

Team USA has shown signs of struggle so far in the exhibition games after two terrible losses and a win over Argentina. They will need some time to get the team chemistry that they need, also to adjust to the FIBA rules and more importantly how the games are being officiated, no easy fouls.

I think we are set for a great tournament!

[LUCKMCFLY]

It is a great thread, Olympic Basketball has a great liking on the part of the people, now I would like to share the calendar for the games, I know there are many basketball lovers, I hope the teams give a great show:

*All times in Japan Standard Time (JST)

Basketball

Date and Time: Sun 25 July 10:00 - 12:00

Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group A, Islamic Rep. of Iran vs Czech Republic

Date and Time: Sun 25 July 13:40 - 15:40
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group B, Germany vs Italy

Date and Time: Sun 25 July 17:20 - 19:20
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group B, Australia vs Nigeria

Date and Time: Sun 25 July 21:00 - 23:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group A, France vs United States

Date and Time: Mon 26 July 10:00 - 12:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group A, Republic of Korea vs Spain

Date and Time: Mon 26 July 13:40 - 15:40
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group C, Argentina vs Slovenia

Date and Time: Mon 26 July 17:20 - 19:20
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group A, Serbia vs Canada

Date and Time: Mon 26 July 21:00 - 23:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group C, Japan vs Spain

Date and Time: Tue 27 July 10:00 - 12:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group B, Japan vs France

Date and Time: Tue 27 July 13:40 - 15:40
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group B, Nigeria vs United States

Date and Time: Tue 27 July 17:20 - 19:20
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group C, Australia vs Belgium

Date and Time: Tue 27 July 21:00 - 23:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group C, Puerto Rico vs China

Date and Time: Wed 28 July 10:00 - 12:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group B, Nigeria vs Germany

Date and Time: Wed 28 July 13:40 - 15:40
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group A, United States vs Islamic Rep. of Iran

Date and Time: Wed 28 July 17:20 - 19:20
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group B, Italy vs Australia

Date and Time: Wed 28 July 21:00 - 23:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group A, Czech Republic vs France

Date and Time: Thu 29 July 10:00 - 12:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group A, Canada vs Republic of Korea

Date and Time: Thu 29 July 13:40 - 15:40
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group C, Slovenia vs Japan

Date and Time: Thu 29 July 17:20 - 19:20
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group A, Spain vs Serbia

Date and Time: Thu 29 July 21:00 - 23:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group C, Spain vs Argentina

Date and Time: Fri 30 July 10:00 - 12:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group C, Belgium vs Puerto Rico

Date and Time: Fri 30 July 13:40 - 15:40
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group B, United States vs Japan

Date and Time: Fri 30 July 17:20 - 19:20
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group B, France vs Nigeria

Date and Time: Fri 30 July 21:00 - 23:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group C, China vs Australia

Date and Time: Sat 31 July 10:00 - 12:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group A, Islamic Rep. of Iran vs France

Date and Time: Sat 31 July 13:40 - 15:40
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group B, Italy vs Nigeria

Date and Time: Sat 31 July 17:20 - 19:20
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group B, Australia vs Germany

Date and Time: Sat 31 July 21:00 - 23:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group A, United States vs Czech Republic

Date and Time: Sun 1 Aug. 10:00 - 12:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group A, Canada vs Spain

Date and Time: Sun 1 Aug. 13:40 - 15:40
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group C, Argentina vs Japan

Date and Time: Sun 1 Aug. 17:20 - 19:20
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Preliminary Round Group C, Spain vs Slovenia

Date and Time: Sun 1 Aug. 21:00 - 23:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group A, Republic of Korea vs Serbia

Date and Time: Mon 2 Aug. 10:00 - 12:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group B, Nigeria vs Japan

Date and Time: Mon 2 Aug. 13:40 - 15:40
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group B, France vs United States

Date and Time: Mon 2 Aug. 17:20 - 19:20
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group C, China vs Belgium

Date and Time: Mon 2 Aug. 21:00 - 23:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Preliminary Round Group C, Australia vs Puerto Rico

Date and Time: Tue 3 Aug. 10:00 - 12:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena

Men's Quarterfinal

Date and Time: Tue 3 Aug. 13:40 - 15:40
Venues: Saitama Super Arena

Men's Quarterfinal

Date and Time: Tue 3 Aug. 17:20 - 19:20
Venues: Saitama Super Arena

Men's Quarterfinal

Date and Time: Tue 3 Aug. 21:00 - 23:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena

Men's Quarterfinal

Date and Time: Wed 4 Aug. 10:00 - 12:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena

Women's Quarterfinal

Date and Time: Wed 4 Aug. 13:40 - 15:40
Venues: Saitama Super Arena

Women's Quarterfinal

Date and Time: Wed 4 Aug. 17:20 - 19:20
Venues: Saitama Super Arena

Women's Quarterfinal

Date and Time: Wed 4 Aug. 21:00 - 23:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena

Women's Quarterfinal

Date and Time: Thu 5 Aug. 13:15 - 15:15
Venues: Saitama Super Arena

Men's Semifinal

Date and Time: Thu 5 Aug. 20:00 - 22:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena

Men's Semifinal

Date and Time: Fri 6 Aug. 13:40 - 15:40
Venues: Saitama Super Arena

Women's Semifinal

Date and Time: Fri 6 Aug. 20:00 - 22:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena

Women's Semifinal

Date and Time: Sat 7 Aug. 11:30 - 13:30
Venues: Saitama Super Arena

Men's Gold Medal Game

Date and Time: Sat 7 Aug. 16:00 - 18:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Bronze Medal Game

Date and Time: Sat 7 Aug. 20:00 - 22:30
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Men's Bronze Medal Game
Men's Victory Ceremony

Date and Time: Sun 8 Aug. 11:30 - 14:00
Venues: Saitama Super Arena
Women's Gold Medal Game
Women's Victory Ceremony

Source: https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/schedule/basketball-schedule

There is very little time left for the games to start, it is time to prepare for the best, this is just basketball. There are many games to come ...

[Sithara007]

Some big names are missing from the tournament, no Greece, Serbia, Lithuania, Brazil also didn't make it.

I was also disappointed by the omission of Serbia and Russia. They could have expanded the number of teams from 12 to 16. Serbia and Spain are without any doubt two of the strongest European sides and this time only one among them will appear in the Olympic games. Also an Olympic basket ball tournament without any of the former USSR teams looks odd for me. Because along with the US, they had dominated Olympic basketball for so long. Either Russia or Lithuania should have made it.

[LTU_btc]

I was also disappointed by the omission of Serbia and Russia. They could have expanded the number of teams from 12 to 16. Serbia and Spain are without any doubt two of the strongest European sides and this time only one among them will appear in the Olympic games. Also an Olympic basket ball tournament without any of the former USSR teams looks odd for me. Because along with the US, they had dominated Olympic basketball for so long. Either Russia or Lithuania should have made it.

For me as Lithuanian, it's so pity that we haven't qualified to Olympics for the first time in history. We didn't managed to stop Doncic & co and lost to Slovenia in the final.
It's not surprice that Russia qualified - their squad is really weak this year. Serbia failure is bigger surprise - even without Jokic their squad is one of best in Europe.
I would like tournament expanded to 16 teams, but Olympics is too short event (just 2 weeks) for big tournaments).
I hope that USA will not win gold. Their squad is very solid this time, but results in preparation games shows that they aren't unbeatable.

[Yamifoud]

I don't follow a lot on the international teams but my favorite to win here is not the USA, I know they are good but I rather find the underdog to win the gold medal and I think I like Spain here.

by the way, we got the odds here. (top 12 only)

https://dknation.draftkings.com/2021/6/18/22539324/olympics-mens-basketball-gold-medal-odds-tokyo-2021-team-usa-serbia-spain-france-australia-greece

Olympic Men’s Basketball Odds Tokyo 2020
Team   Odds
USA   -305
Serbia   +800
Spain   +800
France   +1700
Australia   +2500
Greece   +2500
Lithuania   +2500
Argentina   +3000
Croatia   +5000
Slovenia   +5000
Turkey   +5000
Venezuela   +5000

[Sithara007]

I would like tournament expanded to 16 teams, but Olympics is too short event (just 2 weeks) for big tournaments).
I hope that USA will not win gold. Their squad is very solid this time, but results in preparation games shows that they aren't unbeatable.

12 is too small. I would have gone for 24 teams, with 3 teams divided in to 8 groups in the first phase, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. Give one day gap between each stage, and the tournament will be completed in around 10 days. For a global tournament, 12 is too small to give representation to all the regions. If 24 is not practical, then they could have gone with at least 16 teams (4 teams each in 4 groups, followed by semi-finals and finals). I am extremely disappointed by the absence of Serbia in particular. 

[magneto]

+2500 on Australia?

I think the odds are definitely way too skewed in the US's favour. There is a lot of youth and inexperience on the US roster, and they have definitely shown weakness when it comes to exhibition games.

Serbia, France and Australia are all very good picks to win at such long odds.

[rhomelmabini]

+2500 on Australia?

I think the odds are definitely way too skewed in the US's favour. There is a lot of youth and inexperience on the US roster, and they have definitely shown weakness when it comes to exhibition games.

Serbia, France and Australia are all very good picks to win at such long odds.

Beal and Love was out of the Olympics roster and was replaced by McGee and Keldon Johnson. They are still awaiting for Booker, Holiday, and Middleton to join when the NBA Finals come to an end and hoping they wouldn't get into the hassle of health protocol just like what LaVine and Grant get.

I guess the odds was in relate to the fact that they are the former champion of 2016 Rio Olympics but somehow the past performance of them lossing over Nigeria and Australia exhibition match raises skepticism about this odd.

[morvillz7z]

by the way, we got the odds here. (top 12 only)

https://dknation.draftkings.com/2021/6/18/22539324/olympics-mens-basketball-gold-medal-odds-tokyo-2021-team-usa-serbia-spain-france-australia-greece

^Those are outdated odds, the link you provided was posted weeks before the final four qualifiers and half of the teams mentioned did not even qualify for the Olympics.

More recent ones:

source: https://www.covers.com/olympics/basketball

United States   -400
Australia   +900
Spain   +1,100
Slovenia   +1,700
France   +1,900
Nigeria  +3,500
Argentina   +4,000
Italy   +4,000
Germany   +10,000
Czech Republic   +10,000
Japan   +30,000
Iran   +50,000

Serbia, France and Australia are all very good picks to win at such long odds.

Not to be a jerk, but if you don't know which teams qualified for the Olympics, i don't think this thread is for you. I will 100% regret not making this one a self-mod. smh

[Sithara007]

+2500 on Australia?

I think the odds are definitely way too skewed in the US's favour. There is a lot of youth and inexperience on the US roster, and they have definitely shown weakness when it comes to exhibition games.

It is never going to be a good option to bet in favor of the United States, because they always underperform in global tournaments. Remember the 2019 Basketball World Cup? I lost some money betting on them. They were touted as the strongest team in the tournament, but lost to France by a big margin in the Quarter-finals. But I agree that during the last Olympics (2016), they had such an enviable record. They destroyed Serbia in the finals by such a huge margin (96-66). The format was different last time. They went for 2x6 grouping, compared to 3x4 that we have now.

[Obito]

No cap, USA is going to win this match definitely, I have seen the line up and it's close to an All Star line up and I don't think that anyone can probably play that good against USA. Plus I don't think that USA is going to be beaten for the gold anytime soon.

[Oasisman]

No cap, USA is going to win this match definitely, I have seen the line up and it's close to an All Star line up and I don't think that anyone can probably play that good against USA. Plus I don't think that USA is going to be beaten for the gold anytime soon.

Not guaranteed, though as usual team USA is an allstar team, but teams like France, Italy, Spain, and Argentina has always had a chance at winning.
France might be the toughest opponent for the team USA in the first bracket, someone mentioned about what happened between the France and USA matchup in 2019.
Though I agree USA roster is looking great this year, but you can't take away the fact that France is also a good team.
Again, they (USA) have a huge chance and most favourite to win the Gold medal, but those teams I have mentioned will surely give them a good match.

[Kong Hey Pakboy]

Not guaranteed, though as usual team USA is an allstar team, but teams like France, Italy, Spain, and Argentina has always had a chance at winning.
France might be the toughest opponent for the team USA in the first bracket, someone mentioned about what happened between the France and USA matchup in 2019.
Though I agree USA roster is looking great this year, but you can't take away the fact that France is also a good team.
Again, they (USA) have a huge chance and most favourite to win the Gold medal, but those teams I have mentioned will surely give them a good match.

It might not be guaranteed but as you have said, they have an All Star roster and they have a chance against the winner from the last time which is France. I have seen the performance of France and I think that there's a good chance that they might be able to get the gold since they have a good team and good players. There's also the African teams, there's a chance that they can get in, they're pretty good too.

[Obito]

~snip

Not guaranteed, though as usual team USA is an allstar team, but teams like France, Italy, Spain, and Argentina has always had a chance at winning.
France might be the toughest opponent for the team USA in the first bracket, someone mentioned about what happened between the France and USA matchup in 2019.
Though I agree USA roster is looking great this year, but you can't take away the fact that France is also a good team.
Again, they (USA) have a huge chance and most favourite to win the Gold medal, but those teams I have mentioned will surely give them a good match.

It's not that I am disregarding other teams but the players in the USA is just too good that I feel like they are unstoppable and that they might be able to demolish all the other teams all the way through the finals. I just hope that there's no doping or any funny business happening, I just want these people to have fun and me watching their matches.

[bryant.coleman]

Not guaranteed, though as usual team USA is an allstar team, but teams like France, Italy, Spain, and Argentina has always had a chance at winning.
France might be the toughest opponent for the team USA in the first bracket, someone mentioned about what happened between the France and USA matchup in 2019.
Though I agree USA roster is looking great this year, but you can't take away the fact that France is also a good team.
Again, they (USA) have a huge chance and most favourite to win the Gold medal, but those teams I have mentioned will surely give them a good match.

Is it worth to make a bet in favor of the United States? The odds are -900 or -1000. Even if you put $1000 on them, at the most you will receive $100. But then there is always a chance of an upset. IMO, it is not worth the risk to make a bet in their favor. What if 2019 repeats? I would rather go for Australia, France, Spain or Argentina. Italy also looks good. The unpredictability is higher this time, due to the COVID 19 situation. Although the chances are very low, what would happen if some of the main players become unavailable all of a sudden?

[electronicash]

Not guaranteed, though as usual team USA is an allstar team, but teams like France, Italy, Spain, and Argentina has always had a chance at winning.
France might be the toughest opponent for the team USA in the first bracket, someone mentioned about what happened between the France and USA matchup in 2019.
Though I agree USA roster is looking great this year, but you can't take away the fact that France is also a good team.
Again, they (USA) have a huge chance and most favourite to win the Gold medal, but those teams I have mentioned will surely give them a good match.

Is it worth to make a bet in favor of the United States? The odds are -900 or -1000. Even if you put $1000 on them, at the most you will receive $100. But then there is always a chance of an upset. IMO, it is not worth the risk to make a bet in their favor. What if 2019 repeats? I would rather go for Australia, France, Spain or Argentina. Italy also looks good. The unpredictability is higher this time, due to the COVID 19 situation. Although the chances are very low, what would happen if some of the main players become unavailable all of a sudden?

the chance of an upset is always there seeing there are popular names. not a chance when only 10% for the win, maybe they Keldon to be a big advantage already. but you see Spain didn't make it easy for them to win they also have superstars with them, i'm not very familiar.

Australia has better payers but there's also Rubio and Scola in Argentina's team.

[zanezane]

If France have the same roster as back when they won against USA, they will probably have a big chance against them but if there's a change, we will probably see to it that USA will dominate the sport.

[Lorence.xD]

Why is the rules saying FIBA when it's Olympics? It's stupid of me to ask that question but I feel that I am conflicted so I really want to know about it. I am on team USA just like my other friends, NBA really made the influence to make us believe that they're going to get this gold.

[btc_angela]

Why is the rules saying FIBA when it's Olympics? It's stupid of me to ask that question but I feel that I am conflicted so I really want to know about it. I am on team USA just like my other friends, NBA really made the influence to make us believe that they're going to get this gold.

It's because FIBA is a world governing body as far as basketball is concern.

US has been getting the golds and they have been ranked #1 again in this year's Olympics.

So clearly they will still be the favourites to continue their dominance but there will be tough competitions as well as some of the countries has NBA players.