France – Latvia

France has brought its “A” team to the Eurobasket in Slovenia and they enter the tournament as second favorites behind Spain. “Les Bleus” have the best player in the competition, Tony Parker, and a bunch of other NBA and european stars like Batum, Diaw, De Colo, Gelabale or Ajinca. The french also look to have a very good chemistry with three of their best players playing together for the San Antonio Spurs (Parker, Diaw, De Colo). The starting five with Parker – Gelabale – Batum – Diaw – Ajinca is scary good, and they also have 2-3 first-class options off the bench.

“Les Bleus” lost the first game of the tournament against Germany, but then reacted with 4 strong wins. Entering the 2nd group stage carrying a 2-0 record, they lost 76-62 to Lithuania after a very poor performance. You have to give Lithuania credit though, they also have a fantastic squad for this competition and are contenders to win the whole thing. France is currently third with a 2-1 record in the group.

Latvia has no NBA players or other top stars in its roster. Nevertheless, the baltic side has been impressive and very resilient so far. They entered the 2nd group stage at 0-2 (after previously losing to Lithuania and Serbia) but then they destroyed Ukraine by 34 points and currently hold a 1-2 record, being 4th.

Both teams would welcome a win here, France needing it to climb up the table to avoid big names in the next round and Latvia to gain an edge for advancing from the group.

Latvia was very good so far but they lost clearly against all the superior teams they met. France is one of the best 5 teams in the world, with amazing talent and experience in the roster, and they are expected to bounce back immediately after a win. Tony Parker, Batum or Diaw can`t have 2 poor matches in a row and they know how to come back stronger after a poor game. Latvia will probably fight admirably for 2-3 quarters, but sheer talent and experience should get France through today by a sensible margin. The baltic side has no solutions to stopping the penetrations of Tony Parker. Take “Les Bleus” to cover the spread against a vastly inferior team.

Pick: France (-7,5)
Odds: 1.90 @ Unibet
Stake: 6
Possible profit: 5.40
Event date: 13 September

Editor Facts

• Rostick is 1 for 2 in Eurobasket 2013