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 bucket props. And we’ve decided to pass that knowledge on to you with our first bucket bets for March 31. 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 bucket props for March 31.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Bucket Props – March 31
Miami Heat vs. Washington Wizards
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Capital One Arena – Washington, DC
Broadcast – NBA TV
If we look to the data on first buckets, there is really nothing separating these two teams. Literally, there is no difference in the numbers at all. Both of these teams are scoring first at a 47.3% success rate. However, the big difference comes in when we look to the tipoff data. The Heat are winning tips at a much higher rate on the season. Their 62.2% win rate for the first possession is 14.9% higher than that of the Wizards. Bam Adebayo is likely to take the tip on Monday, and his win rate for tips is even higher – 73.3%. With tip winners getting 65.7% of the first scores this year, we’ll have to back Miami.
Since Andrew Wiggins went out with an injury, we’ve seen a lot more of Kel’el Ware in the early action. If you take the first three shots of each game since Wiggins went down, Ware has taken 50.0% of all of those shots. The Wizards are also not the more competent team when it comes to protecting the rim.
First Bucket Bet for March 31: Kel’el Ware (TBD)
Houston Rockets vs. Los Angles Lakers
Tipoff – 10:00 pm EST
crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, CA
Broadcast – TNT
The nightcap on Monday is another where the first score rate is not all that different, but the tip rate is. The Lakers hold a modest 2.1% lead when it comes to scoring first. That alone would not be enough to back them here. However, when we look at the first possession numbers, the Lakers are by far the team you want to be behind. Alperen Sengun is winning the tip 40.6% of the time this year for the Rockets. He’ll go up against Jaxson Hayes, who is getting 67.9% of his tips. That 27.3% lead is plenty to have faith in the Lakers for this one.
One of the guys that has been the most active for the Lakers this year on the first bucket is Rui Hachimura. He’s scored early for them plenty of times, and even when he didn’t, he got the looks to have a chance. He returned from injury on Saturday and immediately got the second shot for the Lakers. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got the first shot and first score in this one.
First Bucket Bet for March 31: Rui Hachimura (TBD)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first bucket bets for March 31, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
