NBA First Basket Scorers & Picks: Saturday (4/25)
With a four-game slate on the horizon, there’s plenty of opportunity in the first basket market tonight. I’ve added a couple of best bets for today’s games and listed them 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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Saturday’s Best NBA First Basket Scorers
(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.
Detroit Pistons vs. Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic continue to win the opening tip against the Detroit Pistons. It’s not just the playoffs. In the regular season, Wendell Carter Jr. earned the opening tip in all four games against Jalen Duren and the Pistons.
Carter won the opening tip 73% of the time this season. Duren won the opening tip in only 44% of games this year. It’s very likely the Magic win possession first.
Plus, the Pistons allowed the first basket to small fowards 26% of the time and power forwards 21% of the time. Franz Wagner has taken the team’s first field goal attempt in 25% of games. That’s more than Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane, for example.
Roll with Wagner at +650 here.
Pick: Franz Wagner (+650)
New York Knicks vs. Atlanta Hawks
The Knicks-Hawks opening tip will always be a toss-up between Karl-Anthony Towns and Onyeka Okongwu. That said, the Knicks scored the first basket in 59% of games this season, while the Hawks added the first basket in 48% of games this year.
The Knicks have greater potential in the first-basket market.
Additionally, the Hawks allowed the first basket to centers 30% of the time and point guards 23% of the time. It comes down to Towns and Brunson to score first tonight.
Brunson led the Knicks with 14 first baskets this season. He also scored the team’s first basket in 29% of games and made the team’s first field goal attempt in 29% of games.
Give Brunson a chance at +500 odds.
Pick: Jalen Brunson (+500)