Top NBA First Basket Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions: Saturday (12/17)
Let’s take a look at the Saturday slate of NBA games to find First Basket prop winners.
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
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Miami Heat at San Antonio Spurs
The Heat and Spurs square off on Saturday in a matchup that features one of the worst teams at cashing First Basket props in the league, Miami. On the season they’ve managed to score the first field goal in only 9 of 30 games, and none in their last 10. Even with this overwhelming trend, I like a Heat player in this spot.
Bam Adebayo has been the guy that has scored the first field goal in 11 of 27 starts he’s had. Though it hasn’t resulted in First Baskets for the game often, he still leads all Heat players by cashing this prop four times.
I like Adebayo in this matchup because he has been getting a lot of early touches for the Heat. Miami will look to get Bam going early and getting off to a good start against a poor defensive team will be a must. This seems like a good opportunity to buck a poor First Basket prop trend for Miami and back Bam.
Pick: Bam Adebayo
Dallas Mavericks vs Cleveland Cavaliers
This is a marquee matchup for a Saturday night with big names on both rosters. I’m going to target one from each team for First Basket. Both Donovan Mitchell and Luka Doncic are live plays here.
Luka is the straw that stirs the drink and he likes to show up big when the stakes are highest. Luka will look to take control against a matchup with Mitchell, one of the other young stars in the league. On top of this, Luka is scoring the First Basket for Dallas in over 38.4% of games he’s started. As the leading scorer for Dallas, he’s always a solid play.
Donovan Mitchell has blended in seamlessly in Cleveland’s offense and picked up from his All-Star ways in Utah. Mitchell has cashed a First Basket prop in 28% of the games he’s started this year, including three of his last eight starts. He will take this matchup with Doncic personally as well and will look to attack early and often.
Pick: Luka Doncic (+420)
Donovan Mitchell (+750)
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