Talking Out Wagers: The Steph Curry Olympics Edition

I love being right.

I especially love being right after I’ve carefully broken down a game and wagered accordingly.

Case in point: what will forever be known as the Steph Curry game against Serbia.

As you all know by now, I am a USA Basketball nerd of the highest order, kind of like this guy…

For me it’s the highest level of basketball played amongst generational talents.  For the most part, I refrain from “legacy talk” but when entertaining the conversation of the all-time greats leaving their mark on the game, gold medals count, as do the performances in attaining them.

Paris was, as we discussed before, Steph Curry’s first Olympics.  So far during this Olympic run, Curry has failed to live up to the Steph Curry standards we’ve grown accustomed to over the last fifteen years.

Headed into the Semifinals against Serbia, traditionally one of Team USA’s toughest opponents, Curry was long overdue.  He’d yet to have that breakout moment.  At least that’s how I felt going into Thursday afternoon.  There was no way he was not going to find his groove.

I was so keen on a breakout game, I even searched the internet to see who held the record for most three pointers in a single Olympic game for the Americans, that honor belonging to Carmelo Anthony, who hit ten in one game back in 2012.

Considering this was labeled Curry’s Olympics from the get and considering he’d yet to have a memorable game and considering USA Basketball is led by Steph Curry’s coach, Curry had to step up this penultimate game.  He’d likely get some looks.  He was running out of chances.

In my head, I’d run through why he was struggling.  I’d texted my friends suggesting the shorter international three-point line had probably thrown him off as he’s used to shooting from much farther out.  It had affected his performance.  He just needed time to adjust… and adjust he did.

On a whim, I looked at the pre-game odds on how many three-pointers Curry might make, thinking they might be skewed since he’d been so cold.  My service stopped at 7+.  The wager was coming back +3000.  So, I went in for small stakes, a few bucks.  In retrospect, I should have wagered my house.

Keep in mind, Curry had been playing like crap.  While I had a hunch, said hunch was still a gamble.  In shorter Olympic games with so much talent on their rosters, players generally don’t get the opportunity to launch that many attempts.  Nonetheless, I liked the long shot.   It’s at times like these I wished I had a bigger bankroll.

I continued to text my friends my logic, which is what we do, talk through wagers, go with the information we like, toss aside the rest.  I tried to convince them Curry needed a big game, and this might be the one.

It was.

In a game where the US needed every single one of Curry’s points, Curry caught fire.  His first shot attempt of the night was a two-pointer but shortly after that, Curry stroked one pure from behind the arc, and then another, and another, and another.  He’d hit four buckets from range in the first quarter alone.

The best wagers are the ones you don’t have to sweat.  This one was a no-brainer.  Curry finished with 34 points and nine three-point baskets made, a number I might have placed had my service not stopped at seven.  I can’t imagine the app not taking a bath on that number today for anyone who shared the same hunch, so much so that the odds of Curry hitting the same amount of three-pointers in the Finals have been adjusted back down considerably.

We’re not millionaires here.  None of us are going to retire off one wager.  What we are trying to do is have a little fun, earn some money to burn and pat ourselves on the back when we hit small wagers for big stakes.  Remember, my gambling aficionados, you don’t have to bet a lot to earn a lot.

Much to Serbia’s dismay, Curry finally showed us why he is the most dynamic shooter the game has ever seen, but they had to see it coming.

I know I did.