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 December 16. 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 December 16.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Scorer Props – December 16
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Charlotte Hornets
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Spectrum Center – Charlotte, NC
Broadcast – NBA TV
The vistors ride into Charlotte here with all of the advantages in the early game action. The Hornets rank slightly below average in both tip win percentage and first bucket success rate – 48.0% in both of those metrics. On the other side of things, the 76ers are well above those numbers. With Joel Embiid out, Andre Drummond will likely take the tip. He’s grabbing 58.3% of the jumps this season. With that advantage, plus the fact that the 76ers are 12.8% better at converting those buckets, you have all the reason to head to Philly with a pick here.
It’s hard to use recent games as an indicator for Philadelphia due to the fact that they are a very different team when Embiid is on the court and when he’s off. When he’s on, he dominates the early touches and shot attempts. However, if we look back to the last game where he was out, we see a pretty clear trend. Paul George took the first four shots for the 76ers with the big man out. I’m not sure I’d expect that much one-way traffic, but that trend is enough for me to like him in this spot.
First Scorer Bet for December 16: Paul George (+750)
Chicago Bulls vs. Toronto Raptors
Tipoff – 7:30 pm EST
Scotiabank Arena – Toronto, ON
Broadcast – NBA TV
It’s time to check in on Chicago, the easiest team in the league to fade on the first bucket. Their numbers are abysmal across the board. They have won just 8.0% of the tips this year and are scoring first just 16.0% of the time. Even though the Raptors are a below average team on the tip, they have a 36.2% lead over the Bulls. They also have a 45.7% lead over them on first score success rate – which puts the Raptors in the top ten of the league.
We’re going back to the well on the Raptors with a name every first bucket bettor should be all over. Gradey Dick cashed for us last week with a 10-to-1 play. However, since then his number has been dropping like a stone with all the action he’s been getting. With Scottie Barnes on the shelf, he’s led the team in scoring frequently, including in their last games. In the first game with Barnes back out, he took two of the first three shot attempts for Toronto. Additionally, he had one of the first three the game before, which included Barnes as well. I think he takes over the shooting again here and gets on the board early.
First Scorer Bet for December 16: Gradey Dick (+600)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first scorer bets for December 16, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
