World Cup 2023 basketball, Group C on Wednesday, 08/30/2023
The upcoming FIBA World Cup 2023 basketball game between the U.S. side and Jordan will mark the 3-time in a row that NBA stars are covered by an average of 1.01 to win.
While the USA will thus once again enter the race as house-high favorites, Jordan, on the other hand, is expected to counter with fighting spirit and determination.
A sensation is not to be expected, but according to my USA Jordan tip, a courageous – and with a 46-point lead over the underdogs, especially a hefty handicap bet on – could still pay off.
Are the Americans slowly but surely heating up? Judging by the results of the two opening games against New Zealand (99:72) and Greece (109:81), one might actually be tempted to answer this question in the affirmative.
After all, two victories were celebrated with a difference of more than 20 points each. However, these triumphs still do not have a high sporting value, as the betting providers agreed to offer a purely symbolic US win rate of 1.01 in both cases.
Rather, I remain of the opinion that the North Americans’ lack of experience at international level will be their undoing in the co-phase against better quality nations like Spain, Brazil or Canada at the latest.
Monday’s aforementioned 109-81 win over Greece makes far less of an impression when you consider that the Hellenes will start this World Cup without Giannis Antetokounmpo.
His replacement – Georgios Papagiannis – doesn’t have the quality to match the two-time MVP at the center position, whereas his brother Thanasis Antetokounmpo is usually only the second choice for the Bucks anyway.
As a result, the USA won their second game quite easily against a clearly inferior opponent. Edwards and Brunson provided the necessary offensive output with 13 points each to win the game in the end, but the team as a collective never managed to convince.
So far against New Zealand and Greece, it will continue for the USA. Because also on Wednesday a difference to the opponent of about 20 to 30 points is to be expected.
But compared to Lebanon, for example, Jordan has been able to sell itself much better at this World Cup despite comparably limited playing resources – even if the opponents in Group C are naturally not quite as strong as those in Group H.
Nevertheless: The JBF selection sold itself well in places against Greece (71:92) and followed this up with a respectable performance improvement against New Zealand on Matchday 2.
In the end, the Oceaniacs only managed to win the game in overtime (95:87 n.V.). This narrow defeat will also have given the Arabs a good dose of self-confidence for the upcoming big match.
The USA feel no urge to put in any more effort in this match than they did in the first two games. Especially since advancement is already in the bag.
With that said, I’m not suggesting that the glaring underdog will be able to seize the opportunity to cause what could be – if not – the biggest sensation in basketball history.
However, there’s no need to go all-or-nothing on this game.
In fact, thanks to handicap bets – which are extremely generous according to the USA Jordan odds – it is possible to give the JBF side a utopian lead of -45.5 points.
That the North Americans will actually win this game with such a blatant points lead that exceeds this value is quite unlikely.
Especially since FIBA games are much shorter in terms of playing time than, for example, those in the NBA.
Conclusion: In the upcoming basketball game between the USA and Jordan, the USA’s playing superiority is undeniable. This clear strength could secure them the victory.
Unjustifiably, however, the bookmakers favor the USA so heavily that even a utopian HC advantage for Jordan promises attractive odds of 1.55 after all.
Although the USA will most likely win, betting on Jordan with a handicap could thus be an interesting option to profit from the odds skew prevailing on the markets.
My USA Jordan prediction: Tip 2 with HC +45.5.
