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 30. 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 30.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Bucket Props – April 30
Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets
Tipoff – 7:30 pm EST
Gainbridge Fieldhouse – Houston, TX
Broadcast – TNT
The Warriors lead this series by a score of 3-1 and are looking to close up shop on Wednesday. However, the Rockets still lead in all the metrics we care about. They had leads during the regular season when it comes to scoring first (13.4%) and when it comes to winning the tipoff (2.0%). Those leads have showed to matter in this series as they’ve scored first in four of the five games. There’s nothing to suggest a bucking of those trends, which means that I like the Rockets here to score first at -120.
Just four games into this series, we have a front runner for first bucket MVP. Amen Thompson has been the first one on the board in two of the four games, and much of it is due to his willingness to take a bump and get to the stripe. While he has been a bit slower out of the gate in the last two games, I still like the overall volume that I’m seeing from him. In the last game, he took 12 shots from the field and made it to the free throw line on three different occasions. That put him second on the team in free throws and third in terms of shot attempts.
First Bucket Bet for April 30: Amen Thompson (+650)
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Tipoff – 10:00 pm EST
crypto.com Arena – Los Angeles, CA
Broadcast – TNT
The Lakers are another team that seems to have the metric advantages on their opponents. They have a matching 6.4% lead on the Timberwolves in terms of their tip win percentage and their first bucket success rate. It’s shown up in the series as well, with the Lakers winning three of the four tips and half of the first buckets. The metrics suggest that they should get even more of that, which is why I like them to score first at +100.
If you are getting greedy and taking an individual player, I like Austin Reaves in this spot. He’s taken one of the team’s first three shots in each of the last two games. We’ve also seen a big spike in his output as of late. Last game he shot 12 shots from deep, which co-lead the team along with Luka Doncic. He also took more shots from the field than LeBron James, which is a sign that they’re liking the looks that he’s getting. If they leave him open enough for a three-pointer here, I expect him to knock it home for us.
First Bucket Bet for April 30: Austin Reaves (+850)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first bucket bets for April 30, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
