Friday's NBA action is a jam-packed slate with plenty of games on the schedule. This means there is a lot of opportunity to find plays for any NBA fan or bettor. If you're looking to get in on the action early Friday, here are a few First Basket plays with value.
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.
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Friday’s Best NBA First Basket Scorer Prop Bets
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Cleveland Cavaliers at Washington Wizards
The trade deadline did wonders for the Washington roster. Moving on from Kyle Kuzma and Jonas Valanciunas means the Wizards will be thin in the frontcourt as they host the Cavaliers on Friday. This means Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen should feast. The two of them have combined for 18 First Baskets this season. This includes the former picking up a 10th in the win over Detroit on Wednesday.
Cleveland has relied heavily on Donovan Mitchell in these early game situations this season and he's scored 15 first team baskets in his starts this season, but with the matchup against Washington's bigs I'll be targeting Mobley. He should dominate in this matchup from the very jump. It'll be a Cleveland blowout and I like Mobley to get things going early.
Pick: Evan Mobley (+550)
Miami Heat at Brooklyn Nets
The post-Jimmy Butler era truly commences on Friday. With Andrew Wiggins on the way, Miami will be just fine in the East Playoff hunt, but I don't expect him in the lineup so soon. Instead, I'm looking at a strong matchup for the Miami bigs here. Brooklyn has been awful against big men in First Baskets situations all year and Miami has two outstanding ones in the the starting lineup.
Kel'el Ware has been a breath of fresh air since taking over a starting role in Miami, but the Heat really haven't shown much interest in including him in the offense. Meanwhile, Bam Adebayo is continuing his hot First Basket run. Bam picked up his 14th first team score on Wednesday against Philadelphia and his nine First Baskets lead the team. I like him to add to both totals with a First Basket Friday.
Pick: Bam Adebayo (+500)
Toronto Raptors at Oklahoma City Thunder
Toronto is one of the teams that made a big splash when they acquired Brandon Ingram and PJ Tucker at the trade deadline. Both are GTD for Friday and regardless if either play or start, I have my eyes elsewhere on their lineup in this game. Toronto has surprisingly been one of the most successful teams with First Baskets all year, regardless of a myriad of injuries and roster flux. Even against a much stronger team in Oklahoma City, I like the Raptors to score first.
I'll be backing Gradey Dick in this matchup. The Thunder have given up a good amount of first scores to forwards and Dick has shown he's not afraid to shoot. He leads the team in first shots, including adding to his total on Wednesday. Given the fact he grew up just two and a half hours from Oklahoma City, there could be some added incentive for him to perform. I'll back him to get a First Basket.
Pick: Gradey Dick (+1000)
