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 February 4.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First FG Props – February 5
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Carlotte Hornets
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Spectrum Center – Charlotte, North Carolina
Broadcast – NBA League Pass
The Lakers may be just a league average team when it comes to the early game stats, but that should be enough here. They have a 50.0% rate at scoring the first bucket on the season, which is good for 15th. They are a touch better on the tip at 53.9% – 11th in the league. All of those statistics are rarely something you want to tail unless you’re facing someone like Charlotte.
The Hornets are brutal on the early game stats. They rank 18th in the league on the tip and are getting far less than half of the jumps. They also are 28th in the league in first field goals. Those numbers together mean that you have to lean to someone from Los Angeles.
As for finding the right player to lean to, there is a lot of Lakers with the early buckets flowing. However, there is one who gets lots of early looks and isn’t scoring all that often. D’Angelo Russell takes more than his fair of early shots, and it’s about time that one of them falls here.
First FG Bet for February 5: D’Angelo Russell (+800)
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Atlanta Hawks
Tipoff – 7:30 pm EST
State Farm Arena – Atlanta, Georgia
Broadcast – NBA League Pass
Speaking of teams that we don’t normally tail for their stats, the Hawks are another league average option. They rank 14th in fiurst bucket success and 15th in tip percentage – which is pretty much the definition of league average. However, they have the good fortune of drawing the Clippers on Monday. The Clippers are 28th on the tip and 29th on the first bucket, basically making them an auto-fade at this stage in the season.
Dejounte Murray is the name you’ve heard that comes with plenty of early action. However, there are two names that are getting a lot of looks and have much better numbers next to their name. Saddiq Bey and Jalen Johnson are both getting tons of early chances. While either are a good lean, Johnson is shooting 53.4% from the field this year (which is 12% higher than Bey). We’ll take that right to the bank.
First FG Bet for February 5: Jalen Johnson (+800)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first FG bets for February 5, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
