There will be another two NBA first basket winners in tonight’s playoff slate! Make sure to check out our NBA First Basket Cheat Sheet for even more betting advice. Also, join our BettingPros Discord to discuss the best First-Basket bets for every slate of NBA games with our community of sports bettors. Let’s at least cash in on one of the two first basket props tonight!
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Monday’s Best NBA First Basket Scorer Player Prop Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Cleveland Cavaliers @ Boston Celtics
Jarrett Allen hasn’t played all series against the Celtics. The Cleveland center has won 75% of tips this season and helped the Cavaliers to score first in 55% of games this year. Even in the playoffs, Allen won the tip in 50% of games and contributed to Cleveland’s 60% rate of scoring first in the playoffs.
Finally, sportsbooks have Jarrett Allen’s odds for the first basket. This could be the game where Allen returns to the court. That would seriously help the Cavaliers get the ball first and score first, especially with Al Horford doing the tips with Kristaps Porzingis out of the lineup.
The Celtics have been dominant in the playoffs. However, holding teams to 13% first baskets will be unsustainable, especially if the Cavaliers have Jarrett Allen back in the lineup.
The Celtics allowed point guards to score the first basket 30% of the time this season, tied for the second-most in the NBA. Meanwhile, Darius Garland is currently +950 to score the first basket for the Cavaliers. Garland has started all ten games in the playoffs and scored three first baskets. He’s essentially added the first basket in 30% of games and has attempted the first field goal in 30% of games.
Let’s take a chance with Garland tonight.
NBA First Basket Scorer Bet: Darius Garland (+950)
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Dallas Mavericks
It’ll be a tip-off between Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Daniel Gafford of the Dallas Mavericks.
In this series, Holmgren is already 3-0 against Gafford at winning the tip. However, despite Holmgren’s dominance in starting games with the tip, the Thunder have only scored first 14% of the time. Ironically, the Mavericks have scored first 89% of the time during the playoffs, despite Gafford winning just 44% of the tips.
Still, if the Thunder get possession first, their probability of scoring first will be higher. The center scored the first basket against the Mavericks in 29% of games during the regular season. Meanwhile, the power forward added the first basket in 26% of games, and the point guard scored the first basket in 20% of games against Dallas. Any of those three positions can get the first basket against the Mavericks tonight.
In the playoffs, Holmgren has scored the team’s first basket in 43% of games and attempted the first field goal in 43% of games. Even during the regular season, he added the team-high first field goal attempt percentage of 30%. Let’s take a chance with Holmgren in tonight’s Game 4 matchup.
NBA First Basket Scorer Bet: Chet Holmgren (+460)
