NBA Playoffs First Basket Scorer Odds & Picks: Saturday (4/20)
The opening day of the playoffs provides a full slate of games to fill your Saturday. There will be plenty of opportunities for edges and plays amongst all of the matchups but if you're looking for a quick winner, there is no better prop than First Basket. Here are a few of my favorite plays to get the NBA Playoffs started off right.
Saturday’s NBA First Basket Scorer Best Bets
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Orlando Magic at Cleveland Cavaliers
The young Orlando team has grown up quickly this season. They secured the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference and will play the Cleveland Cavaliers in the First Round. This was an interesting matchup during the regular season as the Cavs took two of the the three contests. Donovan Mitchell only played in two of those matchups and Cleveland won both. Additionally, Mitchell was involved early in the scoring in both matchups.
Mitchell hit one of his First Baskets in the first matchup between these two teams. In his second start against the Magic, he didn't score first but he did score one of the first three baskets in the game. It's a great matchup for Mitchell who is still finding his way back into this lineup.
Mitchell has 13 of these First Baskets on the season and has scored first for Cleveland in 20 of his starts this year. Orlando has shown they are susceptible to Mitchell early in games as well. It's a great matchup for one of the league's best players. I like Mitchell to get the Playoffs started with the First Basket.
Pick: Donovan Mitchell (+600)
Phoenix Suns at Minnesota Timberwolves
These two teams matched up in the final game of the regular season. The Suns dominated that game like the previous two between these teams this season. The Suns have a roster jam-packed with plenty of Playoff experience. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are a young team that hasn't tasted a lot of success this time of year. This is a bad matchup for Minnesota in more ways than one.
The Suns scored first in all three games this season between these two teams. Grayson Allen hit one, Devin Booker managed a First Basket and Kevin Durant cashed this prop in Game 82. Based on matchups, I'm going to be targeting one of these three players. With Karl-Anthony Towns back in the lineup, there is some weakness on the wing defensively for Minnesota and that will be a huge edge for Kevin Durant.
Durant was one of the better First Basket scorers this season. Although he only won this prop 10 times, he was the best when it came to scoring first for the Suns. His 22 team-first scores led the Suns and I like him to add to that here to start a Playoff run with a lot of expectations.
Pick: Kevin Durant (+550)
Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks
Philadelphia missed Joel Embiid for much of the season and because of that they slid into the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. New York lost the game of chicken last Sunday and ended up with the second seed. This is perhaps the most intriguing First Round matchup in the East and it should be a battle from the tip.
I'm not looking to shy away from a player who has thrived when it comes to this prop. Joel Embiid's numbers didn't live up to what he managed the last two seasons as far as First Baskets, but he only played about half the season. He still managed to cash this prop 11 times during the regular season, over 25% of the games he started.
Embiid is taking the first shot for Philadelphia in about half of the games he starts. There is a reason he has the shortest odds in this game. New York really doesn't have the players to defend Embiid defensively, but can the rest of the 76ers' cast hold up for 48 minutes? Maybe, but it doesn't matter for First Basket. Embiid is the pick.
Pick: Joel Embiid (+360)
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Saturday: