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 January 8.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First FG Props – January 8
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Washington Wizards
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Capital One Arena – Washington, DC
Broadcast – NBA League Pass
The Thunder with Chet Holmgren continue to be one of the best teams in the league when it comes to the tipoff. He’s taken every jump this year for Oklahoma City and is grabbing the first possession at a 64.7% rate. The Wizards are hanging out at 27th in the league with a 34.3% rate. Daniel Gafford has been a touch better than than, but not much. With the huge difference and an advantage to the Thunder in first buckets, you have to lean to the visitors here.
Almost all of the recent first buckets for the Thunder have gone to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Holmgren. However, Jalen Williams is the contrarian play here worth looking at. He took the first shot in their game with the Hawks on Wednesday. He’s also had a few others over the course of the year – so he’s not that much of a longshot.
First FG Bet for January 8: Jalen Williams (+650)
Utah Jazz vs. Milwaukee Bucks
Tipoff – 8:00 pm EST
Fiserv Forum – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Broadcast – NBA League Pass
One of the only teams worse than the Wizards on the tip is the Jazz. They’re 28th in the league at 32.4%. However, they’re also much worse when it comes to getting the first bucket. In 37 games this year, they’ve scored first just 10 times. That puts them in dead last in the NBA. The Bucks are a bit above average in the early gave with a 61.1% tip average and a 50.0% first bucket percentage.
Sometimes it’s good to grab some big odds on a contrarian play who has been getting action. Sometimes you just go with what works. Over the course of the last six times the Bucks have scored first, Giannis Antetokounmpo has snagged five of them. It’s going to be a chalk play, but the frequency is just too much to overlook.
First FG Bet for January 8: Giannis Antetokounmpo (+275)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first FG bets for January 8, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
