France and Canada are scheduled to face off in a heavyweight quarterfinal battle in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Will Victor Wembanyama and Le Bleus advance to the semifinals? Or, will Canada keep the party going and eliminate the host team?

Catch this game live on Wednesday, August 7, 2024 at 12 AM, Manila time

Away: France (2-1)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Matthew Strazel 
  • Evan Fournier 
  • Nicolas Batum 
  • Victor Wembanyama 
  • Rudy Gobert 

France has looked shaky of late. After beating Brazil in the opener, 78-66, Le Bleus needed a miracle (or a phantom foul?) to prevent an embarrassing upset loss in a 94-90 win over Japan. France, however, could not find the luck to beat Germany in the next game, as Victor Wembanyama and crew lost to the reigning FIBA World Cup champ Germany, 85-71. 

It is easy to spot France’s strength in the literal sense. Their towering combo of Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert stands out, and France will have to rely on those two men to take care of business, especially on the glass and on defense. Despite having Wembanyama and Gobert, France is just ninth in the tournament with a total of 110 rebounds. That said, France paces all quarterfinal teams with 14.0 second-chance points per outing. 

Needless to say, playing at home is a big advantage for France, which has also won six of the last eight meetings with Canada.

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Home: Canada (3-0)

Projected Starting Five:

  • Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 
  • RJ Barrett 
  • Luguentz Dort 
  • Dillon Brooks 
  • Dwight Powell 

Unlike France, Canada remains undefeated in the Olympics. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Team Canada went 3-0 in group play with wins over Greece (86-79), Australia (93-83), and Spain (88-85). With 10 NBA players on its roster, Canada is among the deepest squads in the tournament. The Canadians are, of course, led by Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging 19.0 points and 4.0 assists per game. H

e is also shooting an incredible 58.1 percent from the floor.  But it is RJ Barrett, who is pacing the team in scoring, as the Toronto Raptors star is putting up 21.7 PPG. While France has an advantage inside on paper over Canada, the Canadians seem to have the edge in the backcourt. Gilgeous-Alexander, Barrett, and Andrew Nembhard are all playing well in Paris. Jamal Murray is struggling, but he could be due for a breakout performance.

Canada also has some great perimeter stoppers with Dillon Brooks and Lu Dort in the fold.

Picks

Spread: France (+8.0)

Over/Under: Under (163.5)

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