NBA First Basket Scorer Odds & Picks: Friday (3/21)
Friday's NBA action is a jam-packed slate with plenty of games on the schedule. This means there is a lot of opportunity to find plays for any NBA fan or bettor. If you're looking to get in on the action early, here are a few value first-basket plays.
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Friday’s Best NBA First Basket Scorer Props
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
New Orleans Pelicans at Minnesota Timberwolves
The Pelicans and Timberwolves are playing a second straight time after New Orleans upset the Timberwolves on Wednesday night. Minnesota, who is right in the thick of the Western Conference playoff hunt will look to exact their revenge and will try to strike early. Rudy Gobert won the last tip but it led to a Julius Randle miss on the opening possession. Looking at the numbers and it's easy to see that wasn't a surprising result.
New Orleans has been pretty poor on the opening tips with Yves Missi jumping. This is one of the big reasons the Pelicans have scored first in fewer than half of their games. I like Minnesota on the opening tip and to target Randle again as power forwards have feasted on New Orleans in first-basket situations. Randle only has seven on the year, but he's missed a good amount of games due to injury. I like him to get another early look and cash in.
Pick: Julius Randle (+460)
Cleveland Cavaliers at Phoenix Suns
The Cavaliers continue their dominance in the Eastern Conference but will look to bounce back after three straight losses. This next chance comes against a Phoenix team that has been up and down all year. I like this matchup for Cleveland and Donovan Mitchell when it comes to the first basket.
Cleveland has one of the best opening tip advantages this season, so they're the obvious choice. Mitchell has already compiled 10 first baskets this year and while teammate Evan Mobley has been as hot as anyone on this prop in the second half of the season, I'll target Mitchell again since Phoenix likes to give up first scores to opposing guards.
Pick: Donovan Mitchell (+440)
Memphis Grizzlies at Los Angeles Clippers
One area where the Grizzlies have succeeded all season is in first baskets. I've targeted them often and for good reason. Whether it's Zach Edey or Jaren Jackson Jr., they win a lot of opening tips, leading to over a 60% first-basket rate. The numbers indicate they've spread the ball around a lot evenly but I'll specifically be looking at Jackson here.
Jackson has eight first baskets already on the season. This is a respectable number, but it is a significantly smaller number than he put up the last two years when he was near the top of the league with players like Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Some of this has just been bad luck since he has 15 first-team scores and leads the Grizzlies in first-shot attempts. Against a Clippers team that gives up a lot of first scores to bigs, I'll back Jackson to finally cash in another first basket.
Pick: Jaren Jackson Jr. (+480)
