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 March 2. 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 March 2.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Scorer Props – March 2
Chicago Bulls vs. Indiana Pacers
Tipoff – 5:00 pm EST
Gainbridge Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN
Broadcast – NBA TV
The Bulls have been our favorite team to fade all year. They have the worst looking numbers on both the tip and on the first scores. However, there’s a reason to back them in this one. Nikola Vucevic is on the shelf again today, leaving Zach Collins to take the tip. Even though he’s only jumped seven times all year, Collins accounts for 44.4% of the tip wins for the Bulls. His 57.1% tip win rate is nearly double what Myles Turner is putting up. And with teams that win the jump getting 65.8% of all first buckets this season, it looks like it’s time to get in on the Bulls at +100.
There’s a relatively small data set to dig through when you’re looking for Bulls first buckets. However, one name sticks out way above the others. Lonzo Ball has 38.9% of all the Bulls first buckets on the year. When you consider that he’s also missed chunks of this season with injuries, it’s truly wild how high that number is. Plus, because nobody has faith in the Bulls scoring first, we’re getting a wildly big number on him here.
First Scorer Bet for March 2: Lonzo Ball (+1000)
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Los angeles Lakers
Tipoff – 9:30 pm EST
crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, CA
Broadcast – NBA TV
In our Sunday evening, cross-town rivalry matchup, the Lakers are the team to back. The statistics that indicate first bucket success all favor them in this one. They have a 6.1% lead in tip win percentage and a 4.4% lead in first bucket success rate. Those numbers have been climbing for the Lakers as of late as well. Since they’ve traded away Anthony Davis, Jaxson Hayes has been taking the tips and his success rate is another 3.9% higher than the Lakers as a team. For those reasons, we’ll back the Lakers here at -140.
Not only do I like Hayes on the tip, but I like him to score the first bucket as well. He’s been all over the shot log early in games lately. He took the Lakers’ first shot last game and the second shot the game before that. He’s also shown a lot of first bucket success since making his way into the starting lineup. In his 16 starts, he’s scored first in 37.5% of those games. Let’s trust the volume and get him on the board first in this one.
First Scorer Bet for March 2: Jaxson Hayes (+600)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first scorer bets for March 2, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
