NBA First Basket Scorers & Picks: Tuesday (Knicks vs. Pacers)
The NBA Eastern Conference Finals continue on Tuesday night. Let's lock in our NBA first-basket scorer picks as the New York Knicks take on the Indiana Pacers in Game 4 of this series.
NBA first-basket bets are quick and easy ways to place wagers with bigger payouts, and you’ll know if they cash right away. Check out our predictions for the Knicks vs. Pacers Game 4 matchup tonight.
Note that all betting lines are accurate as of writing, but shop around for the best odds. Enjoy these NBA first basket scorers picks and predictions for Tuesday, May 27.
Tuesday's Best NBA First Basket Scorers Picks & Bets
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers NBA First Basket Scorers Picks
The lone NBA playoff matchup tonight features the Pacers hosting the Knicks in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Let's break down which team and player can cash our first basket scorer prop as the series rolls on.
The Knicks have won two of the three opening tip-offs in this series so far. They scored first in those two games as well. This continues a trend from the regular season when New York won the opening tip in all three meetings vs. Indiana. The Knicks also scored the first made basket in all three contests.
New York has the overall edge to win the tip and score first tonight. The Knicks have a 45.4% win rate on opening tip-offs this year with 47 first baskets made. Meanwhile, the Pacers have just a 31.6% win rate on tips with 41 first baskets.
The opening tip will either see Karl-Anthony Towns or Mitchell Robinson jumping for New York against Pacers center Myles Turner. In Game 2, it was Towns who won the tip over Turner. In Game 3, though, Robinson moved into the starting lineup over Josh Hart. He also won the tip over Turner.
Since that lineup change resulted in a Knicks win, we could see Thibodeau deploy Robinson at the starting center spot again tonight. For what it's worth, Robinson went 3-0 on opening tips this season in his three starts. He also boasts an 18-6 record on tips in his past 24 starts overall (including last year). If it is Towns, he won two of three tip-offs vs. Turner in the regular season.
As for the Knicks, let’s roll with Jalen Brunson scoring first. He takes a team-high 29.1% of New York's first shot attempts this year. He's also scored 11 first baskets, which is just one behind both Towns and Mikal Bridges. Brunson scored the first basket in Game 3 while being active early in the Knicks' offense. Let's bank on that continuing tonight.
Pick: Jalen Brunson (+400)