NBA Playoffs First Basket Scorer Predictions: Saturday (Clippers vs. Nuggets)
The Clippers and Nuggets will square off in a crucial Game 7 in Denver. It's been an incredibly competitive series with four of the six contests coming down to the last few possessions. We should expect nothing different on Saturday night. Let's get the party started with a couple of first-basket plays.
Saturday’s Best NBA First Basket Bets
(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.
Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets
Ivica Zubac has had the edge over Nikola Jokic in this series as far as the opening tip is concerned. He's won four out of six tip-offs, but only one led to a first basket on the opening possession. With that knowledge, there isn't an edge for either team on the opening tip.
For the Clippers, I like Zubac in this matchup. He's taken the first shot for the Clippers in three games in this series and has two first baskets. This is a continuation of a great regular season where he scored 12 first baskets while attempting 34% of the Clippers' first shots in games he started.
Denver has given up over 30% of their opposition's first scores to centers, so the numbers work well in Zubac's favor there. Los Angeles has gone to Kris Dunn early in the last three games of the series, but I think they go back to where their bread is buttered and feed the big man.
If Denver scores first, I'll be betting on another big man to do so, but not the perennial MVP candidate. Aaron Gordon has put his stamp on this series with an iconic moment, but he's also added three first-team scores.
Gordon's numbers in the regular season weren't eye-popping. He only had four first baskets coming into the postseason. But he's managed to add two more in the playoffs, and he's getting plenty of early opportunities against a Clippers defense that allowed more first scores to power forwards than any other position. I'll be taking Gordon to round out my card.
Picks: Ivica Zubac (+500) & Aaron Gordon (+750)