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 February 23. 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 February 23.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
CHECK OUT THE SPORTS GAMBLING PODCAST’S DAILY BEST BETS
NBA First Scorer Props – February 23
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Indiana Pacers
Tipoff – 5:00 pm EST
Gainbridge Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN
Broadcast – NBA TV
The visiting team walks into the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday with some clear advantages when it comes to the first bucket. The first of those advantages is the tipoff. The Clippers lead the Pacers in terms of tip win percentage by 15.0%. With tip winners getting roughly 65.6% of all first buckets, that’s already a significant push to the Clippers. They’re also converting those chances at a much better clip. The Clippers rank 11th in the league when it comes to scoring the first bucket, whereas the Pacers are 24th. As a result, we’re grab the Clippers to score first here at -135.
If we’re looking for a specific body on Los Angeles to get the first score, there are some nice sleepers in there. Sure Ivica Zubac and Norman Powell see a lot of early action, but there is only one player on the squad to appear in the first three shots in each of the last three gamelogs. That player is Kris Dunn, and that run includes one first shot as well. With all that volume and such a large number next to his name, there is tons of value there on Sunday.
First Scorer Bet for February 23: Kris Dunn (+1000)
San Antonio Spurs vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Smoothie King Center – New Orleans, LA
Broadcast – NBA TV
You might look at the surface stats and immediately lean to the Spurs. After all, they do have a 71.7% win rate on the tip and as we’ve established, that’s a solid indicator of the first scorer. However, what that doesn’t account for is the fact that Bicmack Biyombo will now be taking those tips. Over the last two years, he’s won just a single tip. Additionally. even though the Spurs were great on the tip, they were one of the worst at converting those chances. They’ve scored first just 43.4%, which is a huge dropoff from their tip wins. Now with even less wins on the tip, we’ll be fading them regularly. We’ll take the Pelicans to get on the board first at -105.
Again, we have a big number next to a name with a lot of value in this one. Trey Murphy III has taken the first shot for the Pelicans in back-to-back games. I like his chances to get the first shot off here again, but clearly the books don’t. They have his listed as a sizable longshot to get the job done here.
First Scorer Bet for February 23: Trey Murphy III (+950)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first scorer bets for February 23, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
