NBA First Basket Scorers & Picks: Cavaliers vs. Pistons (Wednesday)
The Cleveland Cavaliers clawed back after a 2-0 deficit in their NBA Eastern Conference semifinals matchup against the Detroit Pistons. Now the series is tied as we head into Game 5. Who is going to get off to a quick start and score the first basket? I have an idea and shared my NBA first basket scorers thought process below.
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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Wednesday’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.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Detroit Pistons
Through the first four games of the series, Jarrett Allen has won the opening tip in three games. Allen gained possession on his own tip but ended up losing the ball on that first possession.
Eventually, Allen still scored the first basket with 10:58 to go in the first quarter after making a driving layup set up by James Harden.
Again, it’s likely the Cavaliers earn the first possession. Additionally, the Cavaliers scored first in 61% of their regular-season games and were among the most consistent teams at scoring first all season.
The Pistons allowed the first basket to small forwards 26% of the time during the regular season. Power forwards added the first basket in 21% of games. We don’t want to target Cleveland’s small forward, so we’ll ride with Evan Mobley, who already has a first basket in this series.
We’re on Mobley at +460 odds to score first tonight.
Pick: Evan Mobley (+460)