NBA First Basket Scorer Odds & Picks: Thursday (12/26)
The teams that didn’t play on Christmas hit the hardwood tonight. The NBA has a nine-game slate, with most games starting between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. ET. Let’s add a little quick fix and wager on a couple of first-basket bets for tonight.
Also, make sure to check out our NBA First Basket Prop Bet Cheat Sheet for help identifying all of today’s best prop bets.
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Thursday’s Best NBA First Basket Bets
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Who will score the first basket in today’s NBA game? We compare historical first-basket stats to prop bet odds to help identify today’s best bets. View first-basket odds across sportsbooks here.
Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks
It’s not a first-basket article without fading Nikola Vucevic. Vucevic has won the tip in just 7% of 29 games this season. As a result, the Bulls have scored the first basket just 20% of the time this season.
Vucevic will face Clint Capela, who has already earned the tip in two games against Vucevic this season. Capela has also added the tip in 53% of games and the Hawks have scored first in 53% of their games. The probability Capela and the Hawks win the tip-off and take the first shot attempt is high.
Additionally, the Bulls have allowed the first basket to centers 50% of the time. There’s a good chance Capela ends up with the first shot attempt and first bucket. It’s why Capela is +500 to score the first basket, despite only adding two first baskets all year.
Let’s give Capela a try.
Pick: Clint Capela (+500)
Miami Heat vs. Orlando Magic
It’ll be Bam Adebayo against Goga Bitadze for the opening tip. Miami’s Adebayo has won the tip in 65% of games this season but already lost an opening tip to Orlando’s Bitadze. Yet, Bitadze has only won the tip in 45% of games this season.
Meanwhile, both teams have scored the first basket slightly over 40% of the time. This is a good spot for Adebayo to earn some revenge and win the tip against Bitadze and Orlando.
Two positions have scored the first basket 28% of the time - power forward and small forward. Ultimately, Jimmy Butler could miss this game. That would mean Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Haywood Highsmith would be the most likely candidates to score first for the Heat.
That said, Highsmith has the lowest probability of any player to score the first basket. So we’ll stick with Jaquez Jr. to score first tonight.
Pick: Jaime Jaquez Jr. (+700)
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Thursday: