Best NBA First Basket Scorer Picks for Wednesday, April 24 (Target Chet Holmgren, Jaylen Brown)
By Peter Dewey
There are just two NBA playoff games on Wednesday night with both of the No. 1 seeds in action after playing on Sunday.
The Boston Celtics and Jaylen Brown delivered us a first-basket scorer win on Sunday, but how should we wager on this market in Game 2?
Plus, the Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans played a hotly-contested game on Sunday night, and that could help us understand how the early stages of this matchup will go.
Using first shot percentage, first basket scorer and other key stats, here's who I'm targeting to score first tonight:
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NBA First Basket Scorer Picks and Predictions
- Jaylen Brown First Basket Scorer (+430)
- Chet Holmgren First Basket Scorer (+500)
Jaylen Brown First Basket Scorer (+430)
Jaylen Brown scored first in Game 1 between the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics despite not taking the first shot, giving him 15 first baskets on the season.
Brown and Bam Adebayo are the two players in action tonight that have the highest first shot percentage, but Boston is elite at winning the jump ball, doing so in 72.3 percent of games.
Boston is likely going to look for Brown early, as he was the option off of an offensive rebound in Game 1. The All-Star wing has registered a first basket in over 21 percent of his games this season, so it’s hard to pass him up with just two games happening tonight.
Chet Holmgren First Basket Scorer (+500)
Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren has 14 first baskets on the season despite taking the first shot just 13.4 percent of the time.
Similar to Boston, OKC wins the jump ball at a high rate (57.8 percent of the time) and its opponent, the New Orleans Pelicans, clock in at a below 50.0 percent jump ball win rate.
The Thunder have a lot of options on offense, but their two leading scorers (Shai Gilgeous Alexander and Jalen Williams) only attempt the first shot 4.0 percent (SGA) and 9.9 percent (Williams) of the time.
That opens the door for Holmgren or Josh Giddey to score first, but Giddey’s role was limited in Game 1. So, I’ll ride with the rookie sensation to cash in for us on Wednesday.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
Find Peter Dewey's NBA betting record here (futures included). You can also follow my daily plays on BetStamp here.