Nuggets vs. Thunder NBA Playoffs First Basket Scorers (Wednesday)
On Monday, I added Jaylen Brown and Nikola Jokic to score the first baskets in their respective games. Jokic delivered and Brown didn’t. However, Brown still took the first shot in Game 1 against the Knicks.
Will the outcomes differ in tonight’s Game 2 matchups? I’ve added two first-basket wagers. Here’s my top NBA first basket scorer prediction for Nuggets vs. Thunder.
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.
Wednesday’s Best NBA First Basket Bets: Nuggets vs. Thunder
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel 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.
Nuggets vs. Thunder
In the first game of this series, the Thunder won the tip, but Isaiah Hartenstein missed an alley-oop. Chet Holmgren grabbed the rebound and kicked it out to Luguentz Dort, who tried a three on that same possession. But he came up empty. When the Nuggets got possession, Jokic took the first shot, with a floater just a foot away from the basket.
Hartentein only won the tip in 22% of his attempts during the regular season. On the other hand, Jokic won the tip in 61% of games this season. In addition, Jokic beat Hartenstein in a tip-off battle in the regular season, and the Nuggets have scored first more than the Thunder have this season.
The Thunder are incredibly bad at defending centers early in games. Out of all the first baskets, centers have scored the first basket in 33% of games against the Thunder. Jokic leads the team in first baskets, team first baskets and the team’s first field goal attempt. He’s attempted the team’s first basket in nearly 40% of games and had 16 first baskets in the regular season.
I’ll ride with Jokic again.
Pick: Nikola Jokic (+700)
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Wednesday: