NBA First Basket Scorer Odds, Picks & Predictions: Friday (3/22)
Although the sports world is wrapped up in the madness of March, the NBA is still going strong this weekend. There's a nice Friday slate of games and plenty of opportunities for some good plays.
Here are a few of my favorite First Basket spots for March 22.
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Friday’s Best NBA First Basket Player Prop Bets
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Boston Celtics @ Detroit Pistons
The Celtics are closing in on the top seed in the Eastern Conference. On Friday, they'll take on Detroit, one of the worst teams in the conference. Early on, Detroit was actually performing well on First Baskets, but that momentum has slowed down significantly since the All-Star break. Boston still remains one of the best in the league.
The matchup with Detroit is intriguing. They've often given up First Baskets to wings and Boston is full of them. But there is still one player for whom the matchup sticks out the most.
Jaylen Brown remains one of the best First Basket prop players in the league. He has been successful 13 times already this season. Add to this that he's scored first for Boston 19 times, nearly one-third of the games he's started this year. He's typically a strong bet for this prop, but the matchup with Detroit makes it even juicier.
Pick: Jaylen Brown (+450)
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Toronto Raptors
The Thunder travel to Toronto to play the Raptors. It's a nice yearly homecoming for Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, but it's another Canadian native that I like for this prop.
Toronto hasn't had much success on the court this season, but when it comes to First Baskets, they've been just as successful as a team like Boston. Their big men have been leading the charge, and it's just their luck that Oklahoma City gives up most of their opponent’s first scores to bigs.
For Toronto, big man Kelly Olynyk has gotten off to a hot start on this prop. He only has a handful of starts this season, eight to be exact, but he's scored first for Toronto in half of them. Because of the small sample size this has only resulted in one First Basket, but I like the chances for him to cash a second one on Friday night.
Pick: Kelly Olynyk (+1000)
New Orleans Pelicans @ Miami Heat
This should be one of the most exciting games of Friday night. Both teams are looking to play their best basketball down the stretch and into the playoffs. Miami has shown that it can do that over the last few seasons. It has also shown that it can get off to great starts, scoring first in almost 60% of its games this season.
New Orleans is an interesting matchup because, like many teams, they give up most of their first scores to big men. This is welcomed news for a Miami team with one of the best First-Basket centers in the league. Bam Adebayo has scored first for Miami in 21 games this season, an impressive number that has led to 12 First-Baskets. He's questionable to play on Friday, but if he's in the lineup, he's a must-play for this prop.
Pick: Bam Adebayo (+500)
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Friday: