Thursday August 8 Best Sports Betting Picks for Olympics Basketball, Track & MLB Predictions | Deadspin.com

The red, white and blue have dominated this year’s Paris Olympics, but we’re not talking about the host country.

France’s 51 overall medals entering Thursday are the third-most among any nation, all of which are simply vying for second behind Team USA’s 95 and counting.

The Americans can assure themselves another medal on the hardwood on Thursday when Anthony Edwards and his teammates battle Nikola Jokic and Serbia for a spot in the gold medal game.

On the track, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone looks to break the record for the fastest women’s 400-meter hurdles for the sixth (!) time and secure another gold for the U.S.

Baseball will rejoin the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, so for now, we’ll focus our last bet on a first baseman who has sizzled at the plate for the Toronto Blue Jays over the past few weeks.

OLYMPICS MEN’S BASKETBALL SEMIFINAL: TEAM USA VS. SERBIA, 3 P.M. ET

Team USA’s offense has predictably been borderline unstoppable so far in Paris.

The Americans have racked up at least 103 points in all four games and lead all Olympic teams in 3-point efficiency (44 percent). Coach Steve Kerr’s squad bombarded Brazil with 15 treys in a 122-87 blowout on Tuesday to set up Thursday’s semifinal showdown against Serbia.

Despite Jokic’s worldly all-around skill, the Serbians have been no match for Team USA in two meetings this summer. The Americans have twice beat Serbia by 26 in the past month, once during the Team USA Basketball Showcase in Abu Dhabi and again to begin group play in Paris.

Anthony Edwards scored over 10 points and hit two treys in both games against the Serbians, and the first-time Olympian has been one of the Americans’ most consistent scorers in Paris.

The 23-year-old has tallied double figures in all four games and is shooting 25 of 40 (62.5 percent) from the field, including a crisp 10-for-20 from 3-point range.

We’re counting on Edwards to continue his impressive Olympic debut while helping his country reach the gold medal game.

The pick: Anthony Edwards 2+ made threes, Anthony Edwards 10+ points, Team USA -16.5, +175 (FanDuel)

OLYMPICS WOMEN’S 400-METER HURDLES FINAL, 3:25 P.M. ET

This will be perhaps the most exciting 50 seconds at this year’s Games. 

Thursday’s 400-meter final pits world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone of Team USA against current world champion Femke Bol of the Netherlands in a race for gold.

The other six hurdlers are simply vying for third. None of their personal bests are within 1.56 seconds of Bol’s 50.95 mark, second only to McLaughlin-Levrone’s record-setting 50.65.

McLaughlin-Levrone’s unprecedented time came at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June, which punched her ticket to Paris and marked her fifth time breaking the world record.

McLaughlin-Levrone, who turned 25 on Wednesday, also owns the fastest Olympic time for the event; she finished in 51.46 seconds to secure gold at her second Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.

Bol, 24, won last year’s World Championships, which McLaughlin-Levrone did not compete in because of a knee injury.

Neither Bol nor McLaughlin-Levrone needed maximum effort to secure their spot in this year’s Olympic final, so we’re eager to watch the two superstars go all-out for gold.

The Pick: Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, -700 (DraftKings)

BALTIMORE ORIOLES AT TORONTO BLUE JAYS, 7:07 P.M. ET

As the current MLB The Show cover athlete, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has fittingly posted video game-like numbers as of late.

The Blue Jays’ slugging first baseman has hit .399 with 14 home runs and a 1.262 OPS since June 22, winning American League Player of the Week twice in that span.

Guerrero carries a 19-game hit streak into Thursday’s matchup against Baltimore right-hander Dean Kremer, whom the four-time All-Star is 8-for-25 (.320) lifetime against.

We won’t advise against banking on Guerrero to extend his hit streak to 20, but we’re thinking a little bigger. 

Half of Guerrero’s eight hits against Kremer have been home runs, and given how hot Vladdy Jr. has been at the plate, another long ball is surely in the cards.

The pick: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. over 0.5 home runs, + 450 (DraftKings)