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USA vs New Zealand Match Preview – World Championship
The USA basketball national team starts the competition as one of the biggest favourites to win the trophy. But their first step along the way is New Zealand. Their first group match sounds easy on paper, but it will be interesting to see how the NBA roster adapts to FIBA rules and start the competition. For that reason, it is best to start with a USA vs New Zealand prediction to help you with your betting endeavours.
The US national team does not use NBA players during qualifications. Either way, they were able to get to five wins out of six games to advance in front of Mexico and Puerto Rico.
To prepare for the tournament, USA played five matches and won all of them. They were able to defeat the likes of Slovenia without Luka Doncic in the roster, though. Also, the current champs Spain and a very talented Greece team. Either way, it seems that the squad that Steve Kerr has assembled is destined for a high spot at the tournament.
Although New Zealand is a staple at the World Cup tournament, they are by no means the favourites to earn any awards. They won their qualifying group and topped it with eight wins and only two defeats.
Yet, they lost three out of four friendlies to prepare for the tournament. The only win they were able to muster was against Japan. They were also defeated by the likes of China.
Even though the USA team consists entirely of NBA players, most people don’t give them enough credit. This is mainly because of the way they were able to perform during the last tournament. They decided then to go with a younger core of players as the superstars decided to rest up.
While the situation is the same today, you still can’t really say that this team is not up to the task to reach the final. They are led by Anthony Edwards and Brandon Ingram. They are also very strong in the point guard position, with Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson covering the playmaking duties.
The Tall Blacks’ roster mainly consists of players from the national league. While a few of them are from the Australian league. The only two players truly playing abroad are Galatasaray’s Tai Webster and Treviso’s Isaac Fotu. It remains to be seen for how long they will be able to keep pace with the USA.
You have probably already expected it, but it is no surprise that the USA is the favourite here. The bookies agree that 1.02 odds are enough for them to win. On the other side lies New Zealand with a win at 17.00 odds. The USA vs New Zealand prediction does not get you far in terms of betting on the match winner. So it is best to go with a different type of market.
Steve Kerr has decided to go with players that are quite young but very inexperienced when it comes to FIBA rules. Nevertheless, they are long, rangy, athletic and fast on the counter. It is something that the New Zealand team will have to face.
They can’t keep up with the US for long. Their only weapon of choice lies in them establishing their three-point shot early. This is where they are the strongest and is what might bring them closer to success.
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