NBA Finals First Basket Scorers & Picks: Wednesday (Thunder vs. Pacers)
We’re headed to a pivotal Game 3 of the NBA Finals tonight.
The Pacers stole Game 1 and currently have home-court advantage in the NBA Finals after earning a road win. However, that could all change if the Thunder show up in tonight’s showdown and steal a road game back.
I reviewed all the first-basket options and selected the best one for tonight’s first-basket bet below.
Follow along and make sure to check out our NBA First Basket Prop Bet Cheat Sheet for help identifying all of today’s best prop bets.
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Wednesday’s Best NBA First Basket Scorers Picks & Predictions
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Who will score the first basket in today’s NBA games? We compare historical first-basket stats to prop bet odds to help identify today’s best bets. View first-basket odds across sportsbooks here.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Indiana Pacers
In Game 1 of this series, the Thunder won the tip behind Chet Holmgren and took the first shot behind Luguentz Dort. However, he missed, and the Pacers got the defensive rebound. Myles Turner shot a three for Indiana’s first possession, but he missed, and then the Thunder gained possession again. This time, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander earned the first basket.
In Game 2, Holmgren again won the tip, and Cason Wallace scored the first basket for the Thunder on that opening possession.
So far, Holmgren has had Myles Turner’s number. Even in Indianapolis, I expect that to continue.
That said, the Pacers have allowed point guards and centers to score the first basket in 48% of games this season. We’ll want to target those two positions.
Ultimately, Gilgeous-Alexander had nine first baskets in 75 games. He wasn’t an elite scorer to start games. However, he still managed to add the team’s first basket in 19% of games this season. Still, he’s got an ideal matchup against the Pacers and already has a first basket against Indiana in the postseason.
However, the better bet is \ Holmgren, who has added the team’s first basket in 27% of games this year. He has also attempted the team’s first basket in 32% of games and has had 13 first baskets throughout the regular season.
Holmgren is currently playing center for the Thunder to start games with Isaiah Hartenstein on the bench. Let’s take advantage and back Holmgren to score first.
Pick: Chet Holmgren (+490)