Best NBA First Basket Scorer Picks for Tuesday, March 26 (Target Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard)
By Peter Dewey
With just four games in the NBA on Tuesday night, how should we bet the First Basket Scorer market?
Yesterday, we hit one of our three picks, cashing in on Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green at +550 odds!
There are a few players to consider for this slate, but just because there are fewer games, it doesn't mean we'll automatically find the perfect candidate. Still, it's worth placing a small bet on these players:
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NBA First Basket Scorer Picks and Predictions
- Bam Adebayo First Basket Scorer (+450)
- Damian Lillard First Basket Scorer (+600)
- Kyrie Irving First Basket Scorer (+600)
Bam Adebayo First Basket Scorer (+450)
This is a great matchup for Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo who takes the first shot more than any other player in the four-game NBA slate tonight.
Bam is attempting the first shot 21.7 percent of the time, which has led to him recording 13 first baskets this season.
I think Miami will get the first possession in this game since it wins the jump ball in 57.7 percent of its games – a big advantage compared to the Golden State Warriors (40.0 percent of games).
The Heat have 41 first baskets on the season (more than half of their games), so don’t be shocked if Bam starts the scoring tonight.
Damian Lillard First Basket Scorer (+600)
The Milwaukee Bucks-Los Angeles Lakers game likely won’t have LeBron James (doubtful) in action, so there are some different ways to go in the first basket scorer market.
Damian Lillard may be the best value on the board, as he takes the first shot 18.5 percent of the time for the Bucks – the most on the team – leading to eight first baskets for him.
At +600 odds, Lillard is way behind Giannis Antetokounmpo (+340) in this market, which is shocking since Giannis takes the first shot just 9.4 percent of the time for Milwaukee. Don’t sleep on Dame here to score first.
Kyrie Irving First Basket Scorer (+600)
Kyrie Irving is third in the odds to score first amongst his team in the Dallas Mavericks-Sacramento Kings matchup on Tuesday, which may be too low.
Irving leads the Mavs in first shot percentage (16.3 percent of the time) and first baskets made (nine), yet he’s behind both Luka Doncic and Daniel Gafford in this market.
This is a rare spot where Dallas (40.8 percent tip win percentage) may win the jump ball, as the Kings are winning just 28.2 percent of their tip-offs this season.
At +600, Irving is certainly worth a shot to score first given his season-long numbers.
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.