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NBA First Basket Scorer Odds, Picks & Predictions: Friday (1/19)

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Friday has a solid slate of NBA games. There are 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 betting.

Here are a few of my favorite plays for Friday night.

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    Friday’s Best NBA First Basket Player Prop Bets

    (Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

    San Antonio Spurs @ Charlotte Hornets

    This game has the largest First Basket discrepancy between teams of any matchup on the day. San Antonio has been solid at scoring first this season, while the Hornets have been one of the worst teams for First Baskets. The matchup points to Spurs players for this prop.

    Charlotte has a very clear deficit at guarding forwards early. Nearly 40% of the games the Hornets have played saw the opposing forwards score their team's first team basket. This makes Julian Champagnie a perfect candidate to score first.

    Champagnie has already cashed this prop four times this season and scored first for the Spurs in six games. That isn't a terribly large amount, but it's pretty impressive, considering he's only started 18 games this season. At these odds, it's a good value. I like him to pick up a fifth First Basket on Friday night.

    Pick: Julian Champagnie (+1000)

    Atlanta Hawks @ Miami Heat

    This Southeast division matchup between the Hawks and Heat should be a fantastic game. The Hawks have struggled mightily on defense this year, but they've been pretty good when it comes to First Baskets. However, the Heat have been fantastic as well.

    Miami has the advantage at the tipoff. Bam Adebayo is one of the best opening tip winners in the league. Going up against Clint Capela, who is below average, gives the Heat an advantage in scoring the First Basket. Looking at the trends for Atlanta this year, they've given up opponent first scores to centers far more than any other position. This indicates Bam Adebayo is a solid play to score first.

    Adebayo has already cashed this prop seven times this season. On Wednesday, he didn't get it done, but he did get the first shot attempt in the game. With the matchup against Atlanta, I like his chances to get another first shot and actually cash it for us this time.

    Pick: Bam Adebayo (+360)

    Brooklyn Nets @ Los Angeles Lakers

    This game has been flexed into a national television spot for Friday night. The Lakers are coming off of a huge primetime victory on Wednesday against the Mavericks. Sitting at 21-21 on the season, this is the time for the Lakers to turn it on while they make their push for the playoffs.

    Neither Brooklyn nor Los Angeles is particularly great at cashing First Basket props. This play is solely based on matchups. The Nets have allowed centers to score the first opponent baskets in over 30% of the games they've played this season. This bodes well for a matchup with Anthony Davis.

    Davis has only scored five First Baskets this season but has scored first for the Lakers in 10 of 41 games he's started this season. He's often the player the Lakers look for to get the offense started. With another national television game, you can expect the Lakers to give it their best effort. Expect Davis to get a good shot at the First Basket.

    Pick: Anthony Davis (+450)

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

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