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 May 1. 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 May 1.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Bucket Props – May 1
New York Knicks vs. Detroit Pistons
Tipoff – 7:30 pm EST
Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
Broadcast – TNT
The Knicks come into Game 6 of this series up three games to two, and are looking to clinch. However, those aren’t the numbers that we’re concerned with. We care about the early action in the game. In this series, that lead belongs to the Pistons. They have won three of the five tips and scored first at that same rate. This is of no surprise to anyone who has looked at the early game data from the regular season. In it, the Pistons put up numbers that put them in the top five of the league in first buckets. Meanwhile, the Knicks were 23rd in that metric. For those reasons, I’m on the Pistons to score first at -125.
If we’re getting greedy and playing an individual player, I just can’t quit Tim Hardaway Jr. He’s seen so much of the early volume in this series and simply has nothing to show for it. He took the first shot for the Pistons in each of the first three games – in two of those it was the first shot of the game. He also took their second shot in Game 5. His number keeps going up every time he doesn’t score first and I have a feeling he gets it for us here.
First Bucket Bet for May 1: Tim Hardaway Jr. (+900)
Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Tipoff – 10:00 pm EST
Intuit Dome – Los Angeles, CA
Broadcast – TNT
In the nightcap, we’re going to go with Denver to score first at -120. They haven’t been great on the tip in this series – winning just two of the three tipoff attempts. However, on the year, they were slightly better than the Clippers on the tip. As a result, I expect that may even out. Also, in addition to that, the Nuggets have scored first more in this series. They’ve grabbed the first bucket in three of the five games so far. That difference pans out in the yearly stats, so we’ll expect them to widen the lead here on Thursday.
One player I’m liking in the first bucket market is Jamal Murray. He didn’t see a lot of early work in the beginning of this series, but it has spiked way up. He took the first shot for the Nuggets in back-to-back games now. Additionally, we’ve seen his usage increase across the game. He took a game-high 26 shots in Game 5. We may not see that number again, but the volume has promise here.
First Bucket Bet for May 1: Jamal Murray (+600)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first bucket bets for May 1, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
