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NBA First Basket Scorer Prop Bet Picks & Predictions: Friday (3/24)

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Last Saturday saw us go 0-2-1. We move onto Friday night looking to get back on a winning streak. Friday night gives us a jam-packed 10-game slate. Let’s take a look at some of my favorite First Basket plays.

Season to Date: 9-27-4, +3.20 units

Also, take a look at our other best bets for Friday:

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Friday’s Best First Basket Player Prop Bets

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Detroit Pistons vs. Toronto Raptors

The Pistons are gunning for the best lottery odds so their lineup is in flux on a game-to-game basis. One thing that has stayed consistent for Detroit is their inability to score First Baskets. On the flip side, Toronto is one of the best teams in the league scoring first field goals, doing so at nearly a 60% clip.

Toronto has a solid edge in scoring the First Basket and I’m not going to try and get too cute with it. Pascal Siakam is the Raptors’ best player as far as scoring First Baskets is concerned and I’m going to back him. His 25 first team field goals paces the club by a double-digit margin. 

Detroit typically allows first field goals to opposing guards, but Siakam has that ability as a wing to handle the ball and act as a guard in many offensive sets. Due to this, I like Siakam to cash this First Basket again on Friday night.

First Basket Pick: 0.25u on Pascal Siakam (+410)

Houston Rockets vs. Memphis Grizzlies

These two teams faced off Wednesday night and Alperen Sengun cashed the First Basket prop. However, Houston was able to successfully secure the opening tip, something they typically haven’t done better than Memphis at all season. Due to this, I’m targeting a Memphis player on Friday.

Xavier Tillman is a guy I liked last week in Memphis’s game. He’s really come on lately as a strong choice for First Baskets. He’s led Memphis in their last 10 games with four first field goals, and has nine first team field goals in his 21 starts on the year.

Houston has shown a weakness against opposing bigs in early game situations. They’ve allowed first team field goals against bigs in 45% of games this season, including Wednesday when Tillman recorded the Grizzlies’ first field goal. For Friday, I like him to repeat this performance but for the first overall basket of the game.

First Basket Pick: 0.25u on Xavier Tillman (+800)

Milwaukee Bucks vs. Utah Jazz

This is a matchup of one of the best First Basket teams, Milwaukee, against one of the worst, Utah. Based on this, I have to target the Bucks. One player in particular that I love in this matchup is Giannis Antetokounmpo.

There is very little I need to say in order to hype up the Greek Freak, but I’ll do my best. He leads the Bucks with 15 first team field goals in his 56 starts, 10 of which were first game field goals. The matchup with Utah is favorable as well. The Jazz have given up around half of their opponents’ first field goals to opposing bigs. Clearly, Giannis isn’t a typical big, but his ability to handle the ball and run the offense makes him even more of a threat.

The matchup and the numbers suggest Giannis is a strong play here. I’m not one to go against numbers and I’m certainly not one to go against Giannis. He’s one of my favorite First Basket plays on Friday.

First Basket Pick: 0.25u on Giannis Antetokounmpo (+300)

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