NBA Playoffs First Basket Scorer Predictions: Saturday (4/26)
The Playoffs continue strong on Saturday. With that comes great opportunities for First Basket scorers. Here are my favorite plays for First Basket on the exciting Saturday slate.
Saturday’s Best NBA Playoff First Basket Scorer Picks
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat
The Cavaliers dominated the Heat in both Games 1 and 2 in Cleveland. They'll look to get off to a good start straight from the jump. Thankfully for them, Jarrett Allen has had his way with Kel'el Ware on the opening tips.
Allen has been fantastic all year, winning 77% of his tips. So far in this series, Cleveland has gone to Max Strus and Jarrett Allen in their first possessions. Both of those were rare occurrences during the regular season, so I'll be looking at someone else for Game 3.
No one on the Cavaliers scored more First Baskets than Evan Mobley this year. The DPOY has gotten off to a bit of a slow start, but I like him to heat up right from the start Saturday and capture the First Basket.
Pick: Evan Mobley (+550)
Oklahoma City Thunder at Memphis Grizzlies
The Thunder will look to be the first team to advance to the Conference Semifinals on Saturday. With Ja Morant out, the Grizzlies will be fighting an uphill battle against what certainly looks like the NBA's best team.
Zach Edey has been phenomenal all season on the opening tips, and it's a big reason that the Grizzlies have been great on First Baskets. They need a strong start after blowing a big lead in Game 3.
Oklahoma City has given up most of their first scores to guards, but with Morant out, I think they'll look for scoring elsewhere. That's where Desmond Bane can step in and be a key scorer. He's had a lot of success with this prop all season, and in what could be his last chance of the year, I like him to secure a 16th.
Pick: Desmond Bane (+850)
Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors
With each team looking impressive in a win in this series. The Warriors and Rockets series has been one of the most entertaining of the Playoffs so far. We can expect a great game again Saturday night.
I'll be looking at Houston for the first score, although Sengun has struggled with winning the tip. Their defense has been spectacular enough that they still score first in almost 60% of their games.
No one on the Rockets scored first more than Sengun. No one in the NBA scored first more than Sengun. Considering Golden State gave up almost half of their first points to opposing bigs, backing Sengun seems like a no-brainer.
Pick: Alperen Sengun (+500)