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The United States are the defending champions on the Olympic Men’s Basketball betting at Pinnacle Sports. Can they overcome injury concerns and repeat their gold-medal performance at the 2008 Olympics?

Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose and Orlando Magic centerDwight Howard will both miss the Olympics this summer, as Rose suffered a torn ACL in the opening game of the playoffs and Howard was forced to have back surgery to fix a herniated disc. Two other players from the U.S.A.’s preliminary roster also have serious injuries, with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Chauncey Billups suffering a torn Achilles and the Portland Trail Blazers’ LaMarcus Aldridge set to undergo hip surgery.

That leaves just 16 of the original 20 players on the team’s preliminary roster still in consideration for the final 12 spots, including LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks.

Rudy Gay, Kevin Love, Andre Iguodala, Lamar Odom, Eric Gordon, and Deron Williams also remain from the initial 20-man group for the Americans, along with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers – so even without Rose and Howard available the U.S.A. team still has plenty of talent at their disposal.

Currently the USA stand as favourites to win the gold medal at 1.185*, with every other nation priced at5.690*. Spain, who lost in the final to the Americans back in the 2008 Olympics by a 118-107 score, are available at 8.010* to win the gold medal, with the Spaniards also at 1.118* to not win the tournament in London this summer.

Spain is considered the biggest challenger to the Americans at the Olympics this summer, as their roster features the likes of Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, and Jose Calderon. Point guard Ricky Rubio of the Minnesota Timberwolves won’t play for the Spanish team in London because of a knee injury.

The United States will be joined by Argentina, France, Tunisia, and a pair of qualifiers in Group A at the Olympic Men’s Basketball tournament, while Spain’s Group B also includes Australia, Brazil, China, host Great Britain, and another qualifier (the qualifying tournament will be held July 2-8 in Venezuela). Argentina beat Lithuania for the bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics after losing to the United States in the semi-finals. Greece, Australia, Croatia, and China also made it into the quarterfinal round at the ’08 event.

Women’s Basketball Betting

The Women’s Basketball also sees the USA as favourites at 1.139*, as they aim to retain their title after they triumphed in Beijing in 2008.

Their nearest rivals are Australia and Russia who are both priced at 12.200* to win.