NBA First Basket Scorer Prop Bet Picks & Predictions: Friday (2/24)

by Ryan Rodeman |
Feb 24, 2023

The NBA returned Thursday after a lengthy All-Star break. The final stretch of the regular season begins this weekend, and over the next few weeks, the playoff picture will become much clearer. Saturday before the break, we had our best day of First Basket picks on the season. Let's take a look at the Friday slate to find some more winners.

And check out our other best bets for Friday:

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Fridayâ€™s Best NBA First Basket Bets

Season to Date: 5-14-2, +2.75 units

Miami Heat at Milwaukee Bucks

I've faded the Heat often recently when it comes to First Baskets, and for good reason. Miami is one of the worst teams in the league when it comes to scoring first field goals, with a very poor 35.6% success rate. Putting this trend up against a Bucks team that is scoring first field goals at a 55.2% rate points to any Buck as a solid play.

I'm specifically going to target Jrue Holiday here. Holiday spent the weekend in Utah, partaking in the All-Star festivities with his teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo. Normally I would focus on Giannis, but he'll be out for some time with the writs injury he sustained before the break. Holiday has been a solid First Basket play in his stead.

Jrue trails only Lopez in first field goals on the season for Milwaukee but with 12 fewer starts. With Giannis out of the lineup, look to Holiday to try and take on a larger offensive role than he already has. The matchup with Miami also lends itself to this play as they give up over 20% of opponentsâ€™ first field goals to shooting guards.

Lopez is a solid play here, too, but I'm going to officially only make a play on Jrue for First Basket in this game.

Pick: 0.25u Jrue Holiday (+400)

Oklahoma City Thunder at Phoenix Suns

The Thunder will be playing the second night of a back-to-back right out of the gate when they travel to Phoenix to play the Suns on Friday. Phoenix is going to end up looking a lot different after the break, with Kevin Durant looking to make his debut soon. But there is one Sun in this game that I'm targeting for First Basket.

Deandre Ayton is a numbers play. Ayton leads the Suns with 17 first team field goals. With Bridges being sent off to Brooklyn in the trade, no one else on the Suns even comes within eight first team field goals of Ayton. In addition, OKC gives up a whopping 56% of their opponentsâ€™ first field goals to big men. This makes Ayton a must-play for Friday night.

Pick: 0.25u DeAndre Ayton (+320)

Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors

The Warriors are going to need a strong finish to the season if they want to defend their title this year. They'll start with a back-to-back on Thursday against the Lakers and the Rockets on Friday. With it being a back-to-back, it might be tough to predict who will be in the lineup, but after a week off and the playoff push looming, it's safe to say the starters will get minutes in both games.

Against a team like Houston who struggles so mightily on defense, I love taking Warrior players for First Basket. The one player I'm most excited to play is Klay Thompson. Thompson leads the Warriors with 13 first team field goals, tied with Andrew Wiggins. This is a particularly good play because Houston gives up 25% of first field goals to opponents' shooting guards. With the numbers backing up this play, I love Klay to get the First Basket with a start on Friday night.

Pick: 0.25u Klay Thompson (+440)

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