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 scorer props. And we’ve decided to pass that knowledge on to you with our first scorer bets for January 1. 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 scorer props for January 1.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Scorer Props – January 1
Orlando Magic vs. Detroit Pistons
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
Broadcast – NBA TV
We’ve got a nice set of advantages here for the home team in the New Year. The Pistons are 6th in the league in first bucket success rate with a solid 59.4%. The Magic are in the lower half of the league in that stat, coming in under league average at 45.5%. That advantage as well as home court (the home team scores first 2.7% more this year), means we should already be on the Pistons. However, we can be even more confident when you look at the tip numbers. The Pistons have a 15.9% lead in terms of winning the first possession – which should put them in a great spot here.
If you take the first three shots for the Pistons over the last four games, there is really only one player you can get behind here. Of those shots, Cade Cunningham has taken 58.3% of them. You can’t argue with volume like that. On top of that, he hasn’t scored either of the team’s last two first scores. It’s time to regress to the mean and get him back on the board.
First Scorer Bet for January 1: Cade Cunningham (+550)
Chicago Bulls vs. Washington Wizards
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Capital One Arena – Washington, DC
Broadcast – NBA TV
Wednesday sees two of the worst teams at scoring the first bucket square off. The Bulls and Wizards are 30th and 28th in the league respectively, when it comes to getting on the board first. Neither of those inspire confidence. However, the tipoff numbers are wildly different. The Wizards may still be below average at 43.3%, but that’s still 37.0% better than the 30th ranked Bulls. The Wizards should easily win the tip, and with tip winners getting the first bucket 65.6% of the time this year, we’ll play someone from Washington.
The Wizards, who typically aren’t a high scoring team, have been much sharper on the offensive side of the last couple of games. The reason for that might just be the increased offensive production of Malcolm Brogdon. Last year’s Six Man of the Year has been getting starting minutes and seeing an increase in his shots. Plus, he’s getting the foul line about twice as much as he usually does. Combine that with the fact that he’s the only Washington player who took one of their first three shots in each of the last two games, you have to like his chances of stiking early.
First Scorer Bet for January 1: Malcolm Brogdon (+750)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first scorer bets for January 1, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
