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 30.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First FG Props – January 30
Indiana Pacers vs. Boston Celtics
Tipoff – 7:30 pm EST
TD Garden – Boston, Massachusetts
Broadcast – TNT
The Celtics should have some huge advantages when it comes to getting the first bucket here. They currently rank as the third best team in the league when it comes to getting the first field goal (61.7% of the time). They are also a top five team when it comes to winning the tip off – and that’s with a rotating cast of jump guys. Al Horford will probably be taking the tip Tuesday, and he’s grabbing 54.6% of the first possessions.
All of those numbers for the Celtics are far better than the Pacers. The Pacers are in the bottom third of both first field goals and tip percentage. On top of all of that, they have a whole bunch of people that are banged up. Myles Turner might be out for Tuesday – as might Tyrese Haliburton, T.J. McConnell and a handful of others. Given all of those pieces, you have to go with a Celtics player here.
Jayson Tatum has three of the last six first buckets for the Celtics. Kristap Porzingis has two of the others, and he’ll be on the shelf for this one. That means the only other one in the game who has a first bucket since January 6th is Al Horford, who did on Monday.
First FG Bet for January 30: Jayson Tatum (+600)
Toronto Raptors vs. Chicago Bulls
Tipoff – 8:00 pm EST
United Center – Chicago, Illinois
Broadcast – NBA League Pass
The Raptors are the best team in the league at getting the first score. They have done so 31 times on the year, which comes out to 67.4% of the time. That dwarfs the Bulls’ numbers when it comes to getting on the board first. They have just 42.6% of the time, which puts them in 25th in the NBA. That alone should make everyone lean to players on the Raptors, but when you add in that they have a better jumpball percentage by nearly 10%, it makes it even easier.
These two teams played just 11 days ago in Toronto. In that game Gary Trent Jr. came away with the first field goal. While that may seem flukey because he doesn’t have many on the season, Trent does have two of the last three for the Raptors. Let’s roll the dice on his big odds that he can repeat the effort.
First FG Bet for January 30: Gary Trent Jr. (+800)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first FG bets for January 30, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
