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 scorer props. And we’ve decided to pass that knowledge on to you with our first scorer bets for December 2. 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 scorer props for December 2.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Scorer Props – December 2
Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics
Tipoff – 7:30 pm EST
TD Garden – Boston, MA
Broadcast – NBA TV
There is perhaps no team in the league that bucks the first bucket trends as hard as the Heat. Currently, NBA teams who win the tipoff are scoring the first bucket just over 65% of the time. The Heat, despite winning 61.1% of the tips, are getting just 27.8% of the first scores. That difference is unheard of and just goes to speak for their shot selection early in the game.
On the other side of things, the Celtics are winning 40.0% of the tips they’ve taken this year, but have converted that at a much better rate. They are scoring first 45.0% of the time so far. Add in that they’ve added Kristaps Porzingis back into the fold, who is typically quite good on jumpballs, and this should be a Celtics first score here.
Since coming back, Porzingis seems to be getting the bulk of the early looks. I thing some of that was the Celtics trying to get him into the flow of things early. He hasn’t really been hitting at a high percentage, and they seem to be forcing the ball less and less to him the more time that goes by. As a result, I’m pivoting to Jayson Tatum here. While he’s a little chalky, there is so much early action on him. Plus, Jaylen Brown has been banged up, which could increase his role – particularly early in the game.
First Scorer Bet for December 2: Jayson Tatum (+475)
Brooklyn Nets vs. Chicago Bulls
Tipoff – 8:00 pm EST
United Center – Chicago, IL
Broadcast – NBA TV
Also on Monday, we get the easiest team in the NBA to fade. The Bulls are terrible on the early game action – ranking 30th in both tip wins and first scores. They’ve won exactly one tip this year in their 20 games, and they’ve scored first just three times. The Nets haven’t won many more tips (just 25.0% on the year), but have been significantly better with the return of Nic Claxton. Additionally, they have a high conversion rate – scoring first in 40.0% of games so far.
It’s hard to look to the Nets lineup to find someone we like. That’s not because they don’t have good players, but nearly the entire starting five is either hurt or questionable for Monday’s action. One player that just so happens to be healthy is Dennis Schroder. Not only is he healthy, but he happened to take two of the first three shots the last time the Nets played. He’s featured pretty regularly in that part of the play-by-play data, so let’s grab him to get on the board early.
First Scorer Bet for December 2: Dennis Schroder (+700)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first scorer bets for December 2, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
