Some people like to sweat out a bet for 48 hard minutes – others like immediate satisfaction. Count us as being in the latter, which is why we like to get down with NBA first FG props. And we’ve decided to pass that knowledge on to you with our first FG bets for December 12. Go here for NBA Championship odds.
Of course, there are plenty out there taking blind guesses at this stuff. It’s easy to pick the most popular player or look at what happened in the last game. However, we spent the time pouring through the analytics to make sure that we give you the best odds to stay in the green on these first FG props for December 12.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First FG Props – December 12
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics
Tipoff – 7:30 pm EST
TD Garden – Boston, Massachusetts
Broadcast – NBA League Pass
The Celtics are an easy team to like on the early game statistics. They rank third in jump percentage and they’re the number one team in the league when it comes to first buckets. However, there is even more reason to like them on Tuesday. Kristaps Porzingis is back in the lineup and taking the jumps. While the team’s 66.7% is good enough for third in the league, Porzingis is tipping at 81.2%. Cavaliers are right around league average in both, which should give a clear advantage to the Celtics.
I’m not sure what the formula is, but when Porzingis is in the game, a lot of the early looks go to Jrue Holiday. He was ice cold during the injury to the big man, but got the first shot off in his return and had a lot of early buckets to start the season. We’ll take that and ride with his number for Tuesday.
First FG Bet for December 12: Jrue Holiday (+700)
Denver Nuggets vs. Chicago Bulls
Tipoff – 8:00 pm EST
United Center – Chicago, Illinois
Broadcast – NBA League Pass
Amongst jumpers with at least 20 jumps on the year, Nikola Vucevic is the second worse in the league. He’s getting just 29.2% of the jumps on the year, which has put the Bulls in fade territory for me all year. Nikola Jokic is standing at a respectable 50%, but that should be more than enough to ride with him here.
It’s the chalky play and one that is totally predictable, but you have to go with Jokic again here. He has the Nuggets’ last two first buckets and seems to be the only guy they seem to want to go to early. He also takes high percentage shots out of the gate, which makes him a great candidate to get his third straight here.
First FG Bet for December 12: Nikola Jokic (+390)
Sacramento Kings vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Tipoff – 10:30 pm EST
crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, California
Broadcast – NBA League Pass
The Kings’ Domantas Sabonis has won just seven of the 21 tips that he’s taken this year. That’s not really something to instill confidence. However, when he does win the tip, the Kings are stellar on the first bucket – six of those seven wins have resulted in them scoring first (and they’re over 50% on the year anyways). One of Sabonis’ tip wins, and subsequent first buckets, was against Ivica Zubac. Zubac is one of the few guys who has worse looking numbers than Sabonis, which allows us a rare lean to the Kings.
The Kings have a few guys who are getting a lot of early looks. De’Aaron Fox, Sabonis and Kevin Huerter all have multiple first buckets. However, I’m looking to a different name, Keegan Murray has gotten plenty of action early in the game lately. He would have had the first bucket on Monday had he not got followed on the way to the hoop. He had their second shot the game before.
First FG Bet for December 12: Keegan Murray (+1000)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first FG bets for December 12, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
