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 April 3. 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 April 3.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First FG Props – April 3
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Boston Celtics
Tipoff – 7:30 pm EST
TD Garden – Boston, Massachusetts
Broadcast – ESPN
The Thunder are an above average team across the board in terms of the early game action. They have a 51.4% success rate on the first bucket (good for 12th in the league) and a 62.2% jump ball win percentage (5th in the league). However, those numbers still come in well below the Celtics. They trail by 11.3% in terms of first bucket scores and 19.8% on the tip. The Celtics lead the league in both categories.
Early in the season Jrue Holiday couldn’t be stopped and was a great value on the firstr bucket. He had four of the Celtics first scores on the year and seemed to be speeding up. After an injury kept him out for a touch, he cooled way off. However, he’s taken one of the first three shots in back-to-back games and I feel like he’s primed to get back on the board Wednesday.
First FG Bet for April 3: Jrue Holiday (+750)
Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors
Tipoff – 10:00 pm EST
Chase Center – San Francisco, California
Broadcast – TNT
The Mavericks have been great at scoring first. Their 58.1% success rate puts them 3rd in the NBA. They’ve done this all with a below average tip win rate. They’re 23rd in the NBA at winning the tip, grabbing just 41.9% of the early tips.
The benefit that the Mavericks have in this game is that they’ll likely win the tip. The Warriors are one of the few teams that tip at a worse rate than the Mavericks. They’re 25th in the league and have a far worse percentage when it comes to making the buckets happen (8.1% behind the Mavericks).
It may be a bit chalky, but I’m going to continue to ride Luka Doncic’s hot hand here. He has the Mavericks’ last two first buckets and no matter how many you go back, his numbers are impressive. Three of the last five. Four of the last seven. Five of the last nine.
First FG Bet for April 3: Luka Doncic (TBD)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first FG bets for April 3, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
