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NBA First Basket Scorer Odds, Picks & Predictions: Friday (1/12)

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Friday’s NBA slate is loaded. A lot of great matchups up and down the board and it’s bound to be an exciting weekend of action overall. A great way to get your NBA weekend card started is First Baskets. Here are a few of my favorite plays for Friday night. And check out our NBA first basket cheat sheet for even more betting advice.

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Friday’s Best NBA First Basket Player Prop Bets

Houston Rockets at Detroit Pistons

Even after snapping their long losing streak, the Pistons are still in free fall. Cade Cunningham is expected to miss some time, so the lineup is in flux. They’ll go up against a Houston team that has exceeded their expectations on the season. Houston should be the winner of the game, but that’s not what we’re looking at here for First Basket.

The Pistons have continued to be one of the best First Basket teams in the league, despite having one of the worst offenses in the league. The numbers continue to say to back Piston players, and I’m not one to go against the numbers.

Houston has shown a soft spot on defense when it comes to first scores from opponents. In nearly three out of every five games, the Rockets have allowed opposing bigs to score first for the first opponent team score. This is a welcome sight for Detroit center Jalen Duren.

Duren has missed some time due to injury, but when he’s in the lineup, he scores first for the Pistons in about one-third of the games he starts. Detroit likes to go to him early and often. With Cunningham out of the lineup, he is even more of a focal point in the offense. I’ll be backing him on First Basket again on Friday.

Pick: Jalen Duren (+550)

Charlotte Hornets at San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs aren’t world-beaters by any measure. In fact, their record suggests they’re one of the worst teams in the league. However, they’re a fun team to watch. The young talent on this team has excelled in a few aspects. One such aspect has been First Baskets. They’ve turned themselves into one of the better First Baskets teams in the league. They match up with a poor First Basket team in Charlotte.

There are a few matchups in which the Spurs have an advantage over Charlotte, but one of them sticks out above the rest. The phenomenal rookie, Victor Wembanyama is taking the reigns as the leader of this San Antonio team and having success scoring. I like him in this spot because the Hornets give up first-team scores to centers at nearly a 30% clip. Wembanyama is more than a traditional center; he’s a matchup nightmare.

Wembanyama has had limited success when it comes to First Baskets, but he’s starting to come into his own as his rookie season continues. He had a great game on Wednesday in their win, and I like him to ride that momentum to an early First Basket cash on Friday night.

Pick: Victor Wembanyama (+370)

Toronto Raptors at Utah Jazz

With the Jazz on the schedule for Friday night, you know where I’m trending for this game. The Jazz continue to be one of the worst teams in the league at allowing their opponents to score first. Whenever the Jazz are playing, you can all but focus on the opposing team’s starters when you are looking to place your bets. I’ll be doing the same here against a solid Raptors squad.

Toronto has actually been really good at scoring first this season. One player who has taken his game to the next level this season stands out above the rest. Scottie Barnes leads these Raptors in First Baskets. He’s scored first for the Raptors in 14 of his 38 starts this season, nine of those were game First Baskets.

The matchup Barnes has with Utah is conducive to him cashing this prop for a tenth time on Friday. Utah has given up first-opponent scores to forwards in just under half of the games they’ve played this season. This is a classic case of strength versus weakness and a strong spot to back Barnes for First Baskets.

Pick: Scottie Barnes (+500)

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Friday:

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