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 8. 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 8.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Scorer Props – December 8
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Brooklyn Nets
Tipoff – 3:30 pm EST
Barclays Center – Brooklyn, NY
Broadcast – NBA TV
Sunday has a pair of the best matchups in the league for exploiting first score advantages. The Bucks are one of the very best teams in the league on the early stats and the Nets are… well, they’re not. The Bucks rank second in first bucket success rate and third in tip win percentage – both at 68.2% respectively. The Nets, on the other hand, are 27th in the league at winning the tip. They are a touch better since Nic Claxton has returned to the tip circle, but even he is just above average. They’re also not converting those tips into first buckets, with a success rate of just 40.9% (also in the bottom third of the league).
This will be the Bucks’ fourth game in just six games and as such there are a lot of players listed as questionable. Two of the players absent from that list are the two I’m the most interested in. Brook Lopez and Damian Lillard seem to be locks to play. The pair have combined to take every one of the Bucks last three first shots. With not much else to separate them, we’ll look to the trends of Brooklyn conceding that first score. The last two times they’ve done so have been to the opposing teams’ center – Pascal Siakam and Goga Bitadze. That sounds like music to Brook Lopez’s ears.
First Scorer Bet for December 8: Brook Lopez (+950)
Memphis Grizzlies vs. Washington Wizards
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Capital One Arena – Washington, DC
Broadcast – NBA TV
This is another of the perfect storms for first bucket bettors. The Grizzlies, like the Bucks, are also in the top five of tips and first scores – ranking 2nd in tip win percentage and 5th in first buckets. The Wizards aren’t awful on the tip at just below league average, but that does put them 30.6% behind the Grizzlies. The Wizards also rank 25th in scoring the first bucket, which means even when they’re winning those tips, they aren’t scoring first.
He might be one of the odds on favorites in this game, but Jaren Jackson Jr.’s offense can’t be denied early. He’s scored first in 20% of the games he’s played this year. Believe it or not, that’s actually a touch below what he was putting up last year – 21.2%. Additionally, he’s taken on of the team’s first three shots in each of the last three games. Add in that three of the last five games have seen the Wizards give up a first score to a guy 6’11” or taller, and we can ride with another big man for today.
First Scorer Bet for December 8: Jaren Jackson (+500)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first scorer bets for December 8, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
