Spain vs. Greece Men’s Basketball: Picks, Predictions, Odds and Player Props

The Olympics are underway and we’ve already seen plenty of great action on the hardwood, with exciting games between Canada vs Greece, South Sudan vs Puerto Rico and France vs Brazil having already taken place on the first day of competition. 

As the second day of competition winds down, it’s time to take a look at Tuesday's matches, which include games between Australia vs. Canada, France vs. Japan, Germany vs. Brazil and Greece vs. Spain.

We’ll be targeting a pivotal game between Greece and Spain with our predictions, as these are a couple of teams that are in desperate need of a win in order to keep their hopes of advancing to the knockout stages alive. 

Spain vs. Greece betting picks and predictions

Greece -3.5 (-110)

Neither of these teams was at their best in their opening game losses on Saturday, particularly the Spanish side, as it fell to Australia 92-80 while failing to shoot 40 percent from the field in that contest. 

Santi Aldama did his best to lead the charge for Spain, posting 27 points (6-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc) and adding six rebounds and a couple of steals in the loss. Willy Hernangómez added 14 points, four rebounds and three assists as well, but ultimately Spain’s poor outside shooting and perimeter defense were to blame for the loss.

Australia was able to exploit Spain’s defense throughout the contest, and while Greece doesn't have the same amount of shooting that Australia does, it does have a unique singular force attacking the basket and controlling the offense on most possessions in Giannis Antetokounmpo. 

The “Greek Freak” had a massive game against Canada on Saturday, where he poured in 34 points on 11-of-17 from the field while also shooting 12-of-15 from the free throw line.

Given that the Canadians are a much better defensive team than what we’ve seen from Spain thus far in this tournament, we can expect a repeat performance from Antetokounmpo in a matchup that he should be able to enjoy himself.

Greece also did a great job of guarding the Canada bigs in Saturday’s matchup, so I don’t expect Aldama or Hernangomez to have the same level of success here.

Given that Greece has the best player on the court and a significant edge defensively, it’s hard not to side with the Greeks laying just 3.5 points for our Spain vs. Greece predictions.

Over 163.5 (-110)

Both of these teams cleared this posted total in their first game of Olympic play, and neither team shot well in those contests. It’s reasonable to expect some positive shooting regression from Spain, particularly from behind the three-point arc, while Greece should be able to clear 40 percent shooting from the field against a significantly weaker defense than what it just saw.

There’s also the matter of how the international game suits certain players a bit better than the NBA game, and that can be said for Hernangomez, Aldama, Kostas Papanikolaou and others from both of these rosters.

Even if Greece ends up dropping this game and Spain lives to fight another day at this tournament, I expect that we’ll see a higher-scoring affair than what fans of both teams in Paris were treated to on Saturday.   

Therefore, let’s back the Over 163.5 as our game total predictions for Spain vs. Greece.

Spain vs. Greece odds

Greece	-170 ML
Spain	+145 ML
Spread	Greece -3.5
Total Points	O/U 163.5

Spain vs. Greece player props

Player Points

Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece)	O/U 28.5
Kostas Papanikolaou (Greece)	O/U 9.5
Georgios Papagiannis (Greece)	O/U 8.5
Willy Hernangómez (Spain)	O/U 15.5
Sergio Llull (Spain)	O/U 8.5
Santi Aldama (Spain)	O/U 16.5

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.