Serbia vs Australia Preview and Prediction for 2024 Paris Olympics Basketball | August 6

Nikola Jokic-led Serbia will square off against Josh Giddey-led Australia in the second quarterfinal of the 2024 Paris Olympics men's basketball event on Tuesday. It will be the fourth meeting between the two teams on the international stage.

Svetislav Pesic's Serbia finished the group stage with a 2-1 record and secured second place in Group C. Brian Goorjian's Australia ended the group stage with a 1-2 record and finished second in Group A.

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Serbia vs Australia: Preview, Prediction and Odds

The Serbia vs Australia quarterfinal game is scheduled to take place on Aug. 6 (Tuesday) at the Bercy Arena in Paris.

The tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET (5:30 a.m. PT). The game will be broadcast live on the USA Network, while the live streaming will be available on Peacock, NBCOlymics.com and Fubo.

Moneyline: Serbia (-300) vs Australia (+250)

Spread: Serbia (-6.5) vs Australia (+6.5)

Total over/under: Serbia (o173.5-110) vs Australia (u173.5-110)

Editor's Note: The odds could change closer to the game. The odds listed were as per available information at the time of writing.

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Serbia vs Australia: Preview

Serbia has been the second-best offensive team in the competition and averages 95.7 points per game. The major reason behind the team's offensive onslaught has been Nikola Jokic.

The three-time NBA MVP, widely regarded as the best player in the world, averages 18.7 points on 64.5% shooting. He's also averaging 11 rebounds, seven assists and two steals per game.

Serbia has struggled from the 3-point range and is shooting a poor 32.9%. Veteran sharp-shooter Bogdan Bogdanovic caught fire in the previous game against South Sudan. Serbia will hope that the 31-year-old continues his momentum in the knockouts.

Another cause of concern for Svetislav Pesic has been turnovers. Serbia is averaging 15.3 turnovers per game and is the third-worst-ranked team in this category.

On the flip side, Jock Landale leads Australia in scoring and rebounding. The Houston Rockets player averages 17.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. Josh Giddey leads the Boomers in assists with 6.7 per game.

Australia has shot the three-ball at a decent clip. The Boomers are shooting 38.7% from beyond the arc. Turnovers have proved to be Australia's Achilles heel. Brian Goorjian's group averages 16.7 turnovers per game, ranking second-worst in the category. The Boomers have also been poor from the free-throw line, shooting 63.5%.

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Serbia vs Australia: Head-to-Head

Serbia and Australia have battled against each other thrice. The European nation has won two games compared to the Boomers' one.

In their previous meeting, Serbia registered a dominant 87-61 victory over Australia in the semifinals of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

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Serbia vs Australia: Predicted Starting 5s

Serbia: Filip Petrusev, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Vanja Marinkovic, Nikola Jokic and Aleksa Avramovic.

Australia: Josh Giddey, Patty Mills, Dyson Daniels, Nick Kay and Jock Landale.

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Serbia vs Australia: Prediction

Serbia and Australia have well-rounded rosters with game-changing players. The presence of Nikola Jokic makes Serbia the favorite against the Boomers.

The Denver Nuggets superstar's ability to single-handedly change the complexion of games and control the tempo bodes well for the Serbians in a crunch knockout game.

Expect Serbia to register a hard-fought win over Australia in the second quarterfinal.