Basketball at Tokyo Olympics: France vs Slovenia Predictions, Previews and line ups – Semi-finals, 5th August 2021
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France Basketball Team
Watch the France vs Slovenia predictions as they faceoff in semifinals. At stake for the two teams is the chance to play in the finals and possibly win the Olympic gold medal in basketball. France’s defense is anchored around 2021 NBA Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert and they have put his defense to good use in the Olympics. Gobert has given his teammates the spotlight to shine offensively, but he can put the ball in the hole as well, as he showed against Italy in the quarter-finals.
But Slovenia, first-time Olympic basketball participants, appear to be growing stronger as the competition progresses. They have shown the kind of team chemistry seen only in teams that have played in the Olympics for a long time. Team Slovenia had an easy time getting to the semi-finals, winning easily against Germany 94-70 with Zoran Dragic scoring 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the field. Doncic played his usual all-round game with 20 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.
France vs Slovenia Team Preview
When they take on Team Slovenia on Thursday, Team France know they will have to slow down Luka Doncic, who has been playing like an MVP in leading his first-timer squad. Gobert’s defense in the paint is going to be crucial in keeping him from making his short bankers in the lane, and that should limit Doncic’s options. Nicolas Batum had a huge double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, as the three NBA stars put their stamp on the game to clinch a semifinal berth. Even Evan Fournier had a great game too.
Doncic and Jaka Blazic will continue to start in the backcourt for Slovenia. Vlatko Cancar and Zoran Dragic are the team’s starting forwards while Tobey takes the center position. In the semifinals, they will be encountering the deepest team they’ve ever faced in these Olympics and it will take a total team effort to reach the gold medal round. The good news is, they showed against Germany how they’ve grown as a unit and aren’t just a one-man team.
France vs Slovenia Line ups and Starting 5s
France starting 5 will be Nando de Colo, Evan Fournier, Guerschom Yabusele, Nicolas Batum and Rudy Gobert. Their substitutions will be Abdrew Albicy, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Moustapha Fall, Frank Ntilikina, Vincent Poirier, Thomas Heurtel and Petr Cornelie.
The Slovenian starters will be Luka Doncic, Jaka Blazic, Vlakto Cancar, Zorn Dragic and Mike Tobey. Their rotational players will be Luka Rupnik, Ziga Dimec, Klemen Preplic, Edo Muric, Aleksej Nikolic, Gregor Hrovat and Jakob Cebasek.
France vs Slovenia Predictions
France are the favorites to win this matchup given the team’s strong leadership and how deep they can go to their bench without sacrificing the quality of play. That is, unless Slovenia can help minimize Gobert’s impact. Slovenia’s best chance is to make it hard for France to score inside. The French men are averaging 37.0 points in the paint in the Olympics, which allows them to shoot at a high percentage. This should be a close game based on previous matches. It could definitely go either way, but France should win this face off. Watch the France vs Slovenia predictions and pick your team.
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