We went 2-0 with our first-basket plays yesterday, hitting on Jaylen Brown and Jonas Valanciunas to score the first basket in their respective games. Let’s keep that momentum with tonight’s first-basket pick for Knicks vs. Lakers.
Who will score the first basket in today’s NBA games? We compare historical first-basket stats to prop bet odds to help identify today’s best bets. View first-basket odds across sportsbooks here.
Follow along and 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: Knicks vs. Lakers
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Knicks vs. Lakers
Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to play for the New York Knicks after missing the most recent game due to personal reasons. He’s the projected jumper for tonight’s game for the Knicks. Ultimately, he’s won the tip in only 43% of attempts and has helped the Knicks score first only 48% of the time this season.
On the other hand, it’ll be Jaxson Hayes for the Lakers. Hayes has won the tip in 65% of games. He’s also helped the Lakers score first 60% of the time. In addition, Hayes has already beaten Towns for the tip in a game earlier this year.
It’s more likely the Lakers will win the first possession and take the first shot attempt.
The Knicks have allowed the first basket to power forwards 28% of the time this season. They’ve also given up the first basket to shooting guards 25% of the time and small forwards 25% of the time.
Those are the three positions you’ll want to target for the Lakers. However, let’s zone in on Austin Reaves. He’s the Lakers’ shooting guard and has scored the first basket in 26% of games this season. He’s also taken the team’s first field goal attempt in 34% of games. Reaves has lots of potential tonight.
Pick: Austin Reaves (+700)
