NBA First Basket Scorer Odds & Picks: Friday (11/29)
The NBA Cup group play continues and the games are in full swing. Friday night provides a full slate of action with plenty of great angles to bet on. For a fun quick hitter, here are a few solid first-basket plays.
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Friday’s Best NBA First Basket Scorer Props
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.
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Boston Celtics at Chicago Bulls
This game has plenty of meaning for the NBA Cup. Both Chicago and Boston are 2-1 in East Group C. A win for either could put them in the driver's seat for the group winner. Although the Bulls have played well in the tournament games, they've been pretty weak overall, which shows in the massive spread in this game
In addition to the spread being so large, there is a huge advantage for Boston in the first basket category. Although Boston has been closer to the league average this year, they were one of the best in the league last year at scoring first baskets. Meanwhile, Chicago has been bad at scoring first.
Typically, we see Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum score first for Boston, but there are a lot of great scorers all over the floor for the Celtics. One matchup I really like is Jrue Holiday against Chicago’s defense. Chicago has been susceptible to point guards in first-scoring opportunities, so I like Holiday to cash the first basket on Friday.
Pick: Jrue Holiday (+1000)
Toronto Raptors at Miami Heat
The Raptors have gone winless in the NBA Cup and will look to make sure they put one in the win column here. It'll be a tough task against a Miami team that has a +10 regulation point differential despite their 1-2 record. However, Miami has been pretty bad at scoring first in games this season and Toronto has been surprisingly good.
Typically, the Heat have given up their first baskets to opposing bigs. This is a good spot for Toronto center Jakob Poeltl, but I'm looking at Scottie Barnes here. Barnes has missed a lot of time this season, so he hasn't had a lot of opportunity to put up first-basket numbers, but he had a lot of success with this prop when he played last year.
Barnes is a key piece to the Toronto offense and his 12 first baskets over the last two years indicate as much. I like Barnes to assert himself early and cash a nice prop for us here.
Pick: Scottie Barnes (+600)
Sacramento Kings at Portland Trailblazers
Houston has already clinched the West Group A, but Sacramento and Portland could still grab a Wild Card spot for the quarter-finals. The Kings have a bit of an edge in first baskets because Portland has been one of the worst teams in the league in the last two years. Especially this year, scoring first in fewer than 30% of their games.
There are plenty of positive matchups for Sacramento but my favorite is Domantas Sabonis against Portland’s frontcourt. Sabonis is a great offensive threat, particularly in early-game situations. His 19 first baskets over the past two seasons is one of the best marks in the league.
Portland gives up first scores to opposing big men at a fairly high clip. With a good matchup and a history of first baskets, Sabonis is a strong play yet again on Friday.
Pick: Domantas Sabonis (+700)