We’ve got two NBA games on the slate tonight. The Detroit Pistons will look to build on a 1-0 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers. At the same time, the Los Angeles Lakers will try to earn a road victory in their second-round playoff series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Here are some NBA first basket scorers to consider for tonight, May 7th.
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 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
Jarrett Allen won the opening tip 68% of the time during the regular season for the Cavaliers. He’ll go up against Jalen Duren, who won the opening tip in just 44% of games in the regular season. The Cavaliers scored the first basket 61% of the time and were one of the best teams at scoring first in the NBA. The Pistons added the first basket 54% of the time, which is good, just not as good as the Cavs.
We nailed Evan Mobley to score first in Game 1. The Pistons allowed the first basket to small forwards 26% of the time and power forwards 21% of the time. Still, nothing truly stood out in the regular season. Every position has a chance to score first against Detroit.
That said, Mobley scored the most first baskets for the Cavaliers in the regular season and has better odds than Jarrett Allen to score the first basket tonight. Let’s ride it out with Mobley again at +500.
Pick: Evan Mobley (+500)
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
In the regular season, Deandre Ayton earned the opening tip in three of four matchups against Chet Holmgren. Ayton won the opening tip two of every three attempts during the regular season and has a much higher rate than Holmgren did at winning opening tips.
The Thunder allowed the first basket to point guards 33% of the time this season. Centers scored first 25% of the time in the regular season.
Austin Reaves had a terrible start to the Western Conference Semifinals, but if the Lakers are going to compete, he’ll have to step up. They’ll want to get him going early in this one. Reaves scored the first basket seven times in 45 starts in the regular season and scored the team’s first basket in 24% of games. Let’s ride it out with Reaves in Game 2.
Pick: Austin Reaves (+650)
