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 April 20. 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 April 20.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Bucket Props – April 20
Miami Heat vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH
Broadcast – TNT
The Heat are a bit of an anomaly when it comes to the first bucket data this season. They get the opening tip at a very high rate – 62.8% which had them in the top five of the league. However, despite those solid numbers, they still come in way below average in scoring first. Their 47.4% had them in the bottom third of the league. Now they enter a series with the Cavaliers who actually are one of the few teams with a better tip average than them. When you add in that they are the best team in the league at converting those chances, its easy to back the Cavaliers at -160 to score first.
If we’re getting greedy and playing individual players, there’s nobody I’d want to play on Cleveland more than Evan Mobley. He was their first bucket leader on the year with 16 first scores. That means that he scored first in 22.5% of the games that he played in. Additionally, he scored first once against the Heat this year in three chances.
First Bucket Bet for April 20: Evan Mobley (+450)
Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets
Tipoff – 9:30 pm EST
Toyota Center – Houston, TX
Broadcast – TNT
If you look at just the tipoff data for this game, it appears to be a close one. Both of these teams are below league average on the tip, with the Rockets having a meager 2.0% advantage. However, the Rockets are far better at making use of their chances. Despite being a below average tip team, they rank 8th in first bucket success rate at 55.7%. That’s a major difference to the Warriors, who sit in 26th place at 42.3%. That prior success gets me there on the Rockets to score first at -120.
As for individual players, I like Jalen Green in this one. For one, he has a lot of first bucket success on the year, racking up seven first scores. Additionally, in their last game of the season, he got the first look of the game for the Rockets. And if we need one more trigger to get behind his number, he also scored first earlier this season on the Warriors in one of their five meetings.
First Bucket Bet for April 20: Jalen Green (+700)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first bucket bets for April 20, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
