Navigate

NBA First Basket Scorer Odds, Picks & Predictions: Tuesday (2/28)

by |

There are plenty of NBA games tonight. The quickest way to get into the action is first-basket betting. Betting the first basket is one of the most simple bets in sports betting. Pick the player to score the first basket of the basketball game to win.

Let us look into the matchups tonight to find the best first-basket bets. Do not blink, or you might miss it.

And here are our other top picks for Tuesday:

View 5-star bets and historical prop performance by players with our Prop Bet Analyzer >>

Tuesday’s Best NBA First Basket Bets

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel)

Brooklyn Nets  vs. Milwaukee Bucks

The first part of first-basket betting is deciding which team will get the ball first. The most consistent player at winning the tipoff is Brook Lopez. He has won four of the last five tipoffs. That means the Bucks are the most likely to score the first points. 

The next part of the bet is finding a player who scores consistently. Giannis is day-to-day with a knee injury which means he is a riskier bet. The player with the most betting value is Jrue Holiday. He is their number-one scoring option when Giannis is sitting out. 

First Basket: Jrue Holiday (+550 FanDuel)

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Sacramento Kings

The Oklahoma City Thunder have struggled to win the first possession. That means that the Kings have an advantage early on. They are also on a hot streak, winning four of their last five games. The Thunder have lost four out of five.

The most likely player to score first is De’Aaron Fox. He averages 25.4 points per game, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is out. That means Fox will have additional opportunities to score against a lesser defender than Gilgeous-Alexander. That gives Fox betting value tonight. 

First Basket: De’Aaron Fox (+600@FanDuel)

Golden State Warriors vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Both of these teams struggle to win the tipoff. That means the most consistent scorers will have the most betting value tonight. The most consistent scorer right now is Damian Lillard.

Dame is coming off a 71-point scoring performance and is one of the best scorers in the league. He also has a good support cast. That means defenders can not focus solely on Dame. The Warriors are missing their two best defenders, with Green and Wiggins both questionable. That means Dame has the most betting value tonight. 

First Basket: Damian Lillard (+500 FanDuel)

Whether you’re new to sports betting or a betting pro, our Sports Betting Strategy and Advice page is for you. You can get started with our 101 section — including 10 Sports Betting Tips for Beginners â€” or head to more advanced strategies — like Key Numbers When Betting Against the Spread â€” to learn more.

Go premium to view top prop bets based on Cover Probability, Expected Value & Star Rating >>

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts

Cameron Lynch is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Cameron, check out his archive and follow him @captron26.