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 6. 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 6.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Bucket Props – May 6
Indiana Pacers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH
Broadcast – TNT
The Pacers stormed out of the gate in Game 1. Not only did they win the game, but they also won the thing we all really care about – the tip and first bucket. However, I’m not taking any of that as a sign of things to come. Over the course of the season, the Cavaliers were the best team in the league when it came to winning the tip and scoring first. They led the Pacers by 49.6% in the former and 19.9% in the latter. Those percentages are way too wide to ignore it for some Game 1 bias. As a result, I’ll be looking at the Cavaliers to be on the board first here.
If we’re getting specific with players, Jarrett Allen is the spot for me. He wasn’t particularly active in the early scoring for the Cavaliers in the first game of the series, but now we have Evan Mobley banged up. Mobley took each of the first two shots for Cleveland and scored their first two buckets. With him hurting and possibly missing this one, Allen should get a lot of the looks that he previously had.
First Bucket Bet for May 6: Jarrett Allen (+450)
Golden State Warriors vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Tipoff – 9:30 pm EST
Target Center – Minneapolis, MN
Broadcast – TNT
We get a fresh slate in this one, with Game 1 of this series starting up tonight. The Timberwolves should have the advantages for this whole series as the Warriors have not been good on the first bucket. They ranked 26th in the regular season at scoring first, which came in 7.7% behind the league average Minnesota squad. The advantage on the tipoff was more pronounced. The Timberwolves led by 15.4% in that category. With tip winners getting 65.7% of the first buckets in the 2024-25 season, I like the chances of them getting the first hoop.
If we’re going specific players, I like the way that Julius Randle closed out the series with the Lakers. He was the only member of the team who took one of the first three shots in each of the last three games. In two of those three, he was the first one to put up a shot at all. I feel like he won’t draw any of the tough defensive matchups from the Warriors in this one, so I expect an early look out of him.
First Bucket Bet for May 6: Julius Randle (+600)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first bucket bets for May 6, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
