NBA First Basket Scorer Odds, Picks & Predictions: Saturday (3/25)

Mar 25, 2023 - 1:38 PM

Pascal Siakam hit a free throw to cash a first basket for us on Friday night. We went 1-2-0 to add another 0.53 units to the season total. Saturday only features six matchups. I’ve looked through them and found my favorite first-basket plays of the night.

Season to Date: 10-29-4, +3.73 units

Also, take a look at our other best bets for Saturday:

CTAs

Saturday’s Best First Basket Player Prop Bets

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Indiana Pacers at Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks host the Pacers in Atlanta on Saturday night. The Pacers have steadily remained one of the worst First Basket teams in the league, while the Hawks sit near league average. With this information I’m targeting a Hawks play for First Basket.

It’s easy to point to the high scoring guards of Young and Murray, but I’m going to go in another direction. The Pacers have struggled all year when it comes to giving up First Basket scores to opposing bigs. Nearly 50% of the first field goals they’ve surrendered to opponents have come against teams’ big men, and for Saturday I’m going with John Collins to get the job done.

Collins has been a consistent presence in the Hawks lineup and has scored the first field goal for the Hawks in nine games, cashing a first overall field goal in four. That isn’t a crazy high number, but this is a good value play because you’re getting Collins at a long number. He isn’t the most attractive play, but he’s my favorite for this matchup on Saturday.

Pick: 0.25u on John Collins (+950)

Philadelphia 76ers at Phoenix Suns

The most exciting matchup of the NBA slate takes place in Phoenix between the 76ers and Suns. The stars will be out and any of them could be candidates for a First Basket. Typically I love to go with Joel Embiid whenever Philadelphia is playing, but matchups actually have me leaning in another direction.

Tyrese Maxey has come on really strong this season as a legitimate second scorer for Philadelphia as Harden has transitioned to more of a point guard role. This plays into a matchup strength against Phoenix. The Suns have given up almost a quarter of their opponents’ first field goals to shooting guards. Maxey hasn’t cashed many First Baskets, but he has two first team baskets in the last 10 games for Philadelphia. With this knowledge, I like Maxey for First Basket.

If the Maxey play is a little bit too long, I have another play I like for this game as well, Devin Booker. Booker has been solid as a First Basket scorer for the Suns all season. He trails only Ayton in first field goals but has had three in the last 10 games, two of which cashed a First Basket prop. Like Phoenix, Philadelphia gives up the most first opponent field goals to shooting guards, over 25%.

Strong scorers on both sides make me confident one of these plays will hit. The basketball matchups make the plays even more attractive. I’ll play both and spread my chances on hitting in this game.

Pick: 0.25u on Tyrese Maxey (+650), 0.25u on Devin Booker (+460)

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