NBA First Basket Scorer Odds & Picks: Friday (11/22)
The NBA Cup Group Play continues and the games are in full swing. Friday night provides a full slate of action with plenty of great angles to bet on. For a fun quick hitter, here are a few solid First Basket plays. And check out our NBA First Basket Prop Bet Cheat Sheet for more of our favorite picks.
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Friday’s Best NBA First Basket Scorer Props
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.
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Atlanta Hawks at Chicago Bulls
Atlanta is in the driver's seat in East Group C for the NBA Cup. A win over Chicago would go a long way in securing them a spot in the quarterfinals. They'll be looking to get off to a hot start and they've been incredibly successful doing so all year long. Atlanta has scored first in 75% of their games this season.
Chicago has typically given up opposing first scores to bigs but Atlanta plays a big in Clint Capela who doesn't do a lot to light up the stat sheet on the offensive end. However, they have a lot of long athletic wings all over the floor. I'll be playing one of them for First Basket on Friday.
Dyson Daniels came over in the Dejounte Murray trade and has fit right into the lineup. Daniels already has five first team scores this season. He's a great value to score first in this game with long odds.
Pick: Dyson Daniels (+1000)
Portland Trailblazers at Houston Rockets
The two 1-0 squads in West Group A will face off Friday in Houston. The Rockets have been red-hot over the last few weeks and Portland has been playing some of their best ball as well. Both of these teams will be trying to get off to an early lead. However, this is one of the biggest edges in this season’s first score averages.
Houston has been on fire scoring first this season. Already 13 of their 16 games have resulted in Houston scoring the opening points. Against a team like Portland that is four of 15, it's a good bet. Looking at the type of players Portland likes to give up those early scores to makes me want to play Alperen Sengun.
Sengun has been really reliable in these First Basket situations since the start of last season. He scored his 15th First Basket in the last game for Houston and that was his 28th time scoring the first points for the Rockets in that time. With this matchup against Portland, he's a no-brainer to back for Friday night.
Pick: Alperen Sengun (+480)
Sacramento Kings at Los Angeles Clippers
DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis are both expected back in the Sacramento lineup for Friday's matchup in Los Angeles. This should give the Kings a nice jolt of energy in this game, one that we could see from the very tip.
Neither of these teams is particularly good at the opening tip but Sacramento has still had some success with First Baskets. I'll be backing Domantas Sabonis in this one. Since the start of last season, Sabonis has scored first in 18 games. With a matchup like the Clippers who give up opposing first scores to centers more than any other position, Sabonis is one of my favorite plays again on Friday.
Pick: Domantas Sabonis (+750)