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 7. 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 7.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Bucket Props – May 7
New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
TD Garden – Boston, MA
Broadcast – TNT
Game 1 of this series did not exactly go the way anyone expected. And I don’t just mean the come from behind victory from the Knicks – although that was pretty insane. I mean from the stats that everybody cares about – first buckets. The Celtics, despite having a solid 6.3% advantage on the first bucket, did not score first. They also won the tip, which was a pretty clear indicator of who was going to score first this year (65.7% of tip winners scored first). There’s just too many things pointing towards reverting to the mean, so I’ll take the Celtics to score first here.
Although there wasn’t tons of success on the deep ball, the Celtics sure didn’t give up on it in Game 1. I expect more of the same with them in Game 2, which is why I like Derrick White to get the first hoop. The Knicks seem to be cracking down on defense on the bigger names on the team and it’s left White open a few times. That includes an early look in the first game of the series. We just need him to hit the shot should he see it early.
First Bucket Bet for May 7: Derrick White (+900)
Denver Nuggets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
Tipoff – 9:30 pm EST
Paycom Center – Oklahoma City, OK
Broadcast – TNT
This game was yet another that saw deviation from what we expected. The Thunder had modest advantages in all the predictive metrics to the first buckets. Those numbers get even better if we isolate just the games where Chet Holmgren is taking the tip – as he was much better than the average. Much like the Celtics, the Thunder won the tip, but didn’t manage to score first. For all the same reasons that I liked the Celtics in the early game, I’m backing the Thunder to score first in this one.
We dabbled on a longshot in the first game and we’ll do so again here. Let’s give Luguenz Dort a shot in this one. Why? Because he took two of their first four shots in Game 1, which is so nice early volume. That game isn’t an anomaly either. He was featured in the first three shots of the shot log in multiple games in the last series as well. Plus, with a number in the four-figures, he looks worth a stab.
First Bucket Bet for May 7: Luguenz Dort (+1200)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first bucket bets for May 7, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
