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 29. 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 29.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Bucket Props – April 29
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Indiana Pacers
Tipoff – 6:00 pm EST
Gainbridge Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN
Broadcast – NBA TV
The Pacers have been bucking all the trends as they walk into this series – at least when it comes to the first buckets. Their regular season stats on the first bucket and the tip paled in comparision to the Bucks. They won the tip at a rate 30.9% worse than the Bucks and scored first at a 15.3% worse clip. However, despite all of that, Myles Turner has won three of the four tips in this series and the Pacers have scored first in every game. it seems odd to ignore an entire regular season’s worth of data, but it’s far worse to ignore the four most recent games between these two. As a result, I’ll take the Pacers to score first at -105.
We hit a +650 first bucket on a big man on Monday, we’ll look to do the same here on Tuesday – only with slightly better odds. Pascal Siakam has been a big part of the early offense for the Pacers. He’s taken one of the first three shots in each of the last three games of this series. He had the second shot in Games 2 and 3, both of which he made. Then he was blocked on the first shot of Game 4. That volume and this number look like the obvious value on the board for Tuesday.
First Bucket Bet for April 29: Pascal Siakam (+700)
Detroit Pistons vs. New York Knicks
Tipoff – 7:30 pm EST
Madison Square Garden – New York, NY
Broadcast – TNT
The Pistons are one of the best teams in the league when it comes to scoring a first bucket. Their 59.0% first bucket success rate during the regular season had then in 3rd in the NBA. Additionally, while they had some trouble on the tip during the year, which ultimately pulled down that number, they have an advantage on the tip in this one. The Pistons won the tip 2.5% more frequently than the Knicks. While that’s not a ton, the fact that they have it at all, along with a big lead in terms of the first buckets gets me there on them at -120.
If I’m getting greedy and looking to an individual player, I can’t pick anyone other than Tim Hardaway Jr. The Pistons’ guard has taken the team’s first shot in three of the four games in this series. Not only that, but he took the second shot for them in the lone game he didn’t get the first in. That’s an insane amount of early volume to not yet have a first bucket. I think he rectifies that in this one.
First Bucket Bet for April 29: Tim Hardaway Jr. (+700)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first bucket bets for April 29, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
