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 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 scorer props for March 3.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Scorer Props – March 3
Godlen State Warriors vs. Charlotte Hornets
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Spectrum Center – Charlotte, NC
Broadcast – NBA TV
It’s easy to fade a team on the first bucket that seems to largely be playing without a real center. The Warriors, as a result of that fact, are 28th in the NBA in tip win percentage. They’ve won just 31.7% of their tips this year and are converting first buckets at a 40.0% clip. That’s good enough for 29th – just ahead of the Chicago Bulls. Meanwhile the Hornets with Mark Williams on the jump have been fantastic as getting early possessions. Williams has won 84.0% of the tips he’s taken and they are above average at finishing those chances. Given that, we’ll take the Hornets to score first here at -130.
If we’re going with a specific player for the Hornets, look no further than the aformentioned Mark Williams. If you take the first three shots for the Hornets in each of the last three games, Williams accounts for 44.4% of those shots. In two of those three games, he took the first shot When you add on the fact that the Warriors don’t have a big presence down low, it should be even easier for him to get on the board first.
First Scorer Bet for March 3: Mark Williams (+400)
Sacramento Kings vs. Dallas Mavericks
Tipoff – 8:30 pm EST
American Airlines Center – Dallas, TX
Broadcast – NBA TV
The Kings are one of the easiest teams in the NBA to fade at the moment. Currently they rank 26th in the NBA in terms of tip win percentage. They are even worse when it comes to scoring first. They rank 28th in first bucket success rate – only ahead of the Bulls and the aforementioned Warriors. You could fade them against just about any team, but especially against the Mavericks. Dallas is 4th in the league at scoring first with a 59.0% success rate. As a result, we’ll take them to get on the board first at -110.
We’re going to go with the hot hand in Dallas on Monday. Klay Thompson has been getting the bulk of the early action for the Mavericks lately. He’s taken the first shot in each of the last two games. The game before, he didn’t take any of the first three shots, but he did take the fourth and fifth shot. With that kind of volume and with the Kings giving up a lot of deep shots, it should be prime for Thompson to score first.
First Scorer Bet for March 3: Klay Thompson (+650)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first scorer bets for March 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.
