NBA First Basket Scorers & Picks: 76ers vs. Celtics (Saturday)
We’ve got an exciting Game 7 in the first round of the NBA Playoffs between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics tonight. Whoever gets off to a hot start will be in a good position to win tonight’s game.
Here’s a first basket wager to consider for tonight.
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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Saturday’s Best NBA First Basket Scorers & Picks
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
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.
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Boston Celtics
In Game 6, Joel Embiid earned the opening tip over Neemias Queta and then scored the opening tip. Ultimately, the opening tip is always a toss-up between these two. Each player won the opening tip in 43% of games last season. In addition, both teams scored the first basket around 50% of the time this year.
In the regular season, the Celtics scored the first basket 3% more often than the 76ers. At home, the Celtics have the slight edge with scoring first tonight.
Meanwhile, the 76ers allowed the first basket to point guards 26% of the time and centers 24% of the time. Derrick White is the starting point guard for the Celtics and scored the first basket in seven of 77 regular-season games this year. Additionally, he scored the Celtics’ first basket in 21% of games.
Queta scored the team’s first basket in 31% of starts and added 15 first baskets in 75 starts this season. Both players are good options, but we’ll roll with Queta at +850 to score first.
Pick: Neemias Queta (+850)