In Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, we nailed Jalen Brunson to score first at +500 odds. The Cavaliers are going to be hungry on their home floor. Yet, Jarrett Allen still hasn’t won an opening tip against Karl-Anthony Towns this season. That’s significant when it comes to NBA first basket scorers.
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.
New York Knicks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
In the regular season, Karl-Anthony Towns earned the opening tip in both head-to-head matchups versus Jarrett Allen. In the playoffs, the Knicks won the opening tip both times over the Cavaliers. At this point, it’s turning into a trend. Towns has Allen’s number.
But all good things come to an end. At the end of the day, Allen won the opening tip in 68% of games in the regular season. At home, you’d expect him to find a way over Towns, who only won the opening tip 43% of the time this season.
That said, the Knicks allowed the first basket to point guards 29% of the time this season. James Harden added the first basket in Game 1, despite the Knicks earning the first shot in that game.
Harden has got some good value at +800. Let’s give him a shot in Game 3.
Pick: James Harden (+800)
