Without Parker, the Blues have used both Antoine Diot and Thomas Heurtel to run the offense. The timeshare is representative of a deep rotation used by head coach Vincent Collet. Now that it's entered the knockout stage, it will be interesting to see if he uses a more exclusive group. Diot and Heurtel haven't played poorly, but it's not realistic to expect them to match the Spurs star's contributions. In turn, France let Boris Diaw control play from the post. When he's able to do that, it opens up opportunities for other players on the perimeter. It's a major reason Evan Fournier started playing well over the past three games after a sluggish start.

While the French have relied on a balanced offensive attack, the Croatians are leaning heavily on a small group led by Bojan Bogdanovic and Dario Saric. The tandem combined to average more than 33 points per game during the group stage.

The most important surrounds whether the team's defense will hold up after giving up the second most points of any team to advance (one point less than Senegal). It leaves very little margin for error on the offensive end. Then there are concerns about the team's depth.

Bogdanovic and Saric have played very well while Krunoslav Simon has filled the role of three-point marksman. Beyond that, there are plenty of question marks, which other teams will attempt to capitalize on by applying extra pressure to the main duo. France will do everything in its power to neutralize them and force other players to shine for Croatia. Ultimately, its effectiveness will decide which way this toss-up game falls.

France should be the favorite to win this game. Even without Parker leading them, they've shown a great balance without relying on their stars so far. If Batum can shut down Bogdanovic, France should advance.

France -1 @ 1.87 / Pinnacle sport