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 20. 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 20.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Scorer Props – December 20
Milwaukee Bucks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Tipoff – 7:30 pm EST
Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – Cleveland, OH
Broadcast – NBA TV
Brook Lopez has been one of the better jump ball guys over the last two years. Currently he’s grabbing 61.5% of the tips this year, which has the Bucks with plenty of first bucket success. However, unfortunate for Lopez and the Bucks, they just so happen to be up against a center who is far better. Not only does Jarrett Allen have better numbers on the tip – he has 23.7% high of a success rate. With the tip winner getting the first bucket roughly 66.0% of the time this year, that lead should be enough to get in on someone from Cleveland.
One name that I’ve been all over this year for this Cavaliers squad this year is Darius Garland. He’s been one of our featured picks four times this year. In those picks, he’s 2-2 with a +11u take home. The big reason is that he’s getting tons of early looks, but his overall shot and points totals are still not that high. He again took two of the first three Cleveland shots last game and has one of the first three shots in two of the last three. Let’s fire up Garland one more time before the new year rings.
First Scorer Bet for December 20: Darius Garland (TBD)
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Miami Heat
Tipoff – 8:00 pm EST
Kayesa Center – Miami, FL
Broadcast – NBA TV
Neither of these teams have been great on the first bucket this year. Both are coming in below league average and hovering in the low 40% range. However, a big difference maker in this one is the tip. The Heat hold a 16.7% tip win advantage and even that might not show how dominant they should be here. The Thunder’s number is inflated by the fact that Chet Holmgren was putting up great numbers until he got hurt. Since then, Isaiah Hartenstein hasn’t been great – even losing to low percentage Goga Bitadze last night.
The Heat spread out the love quite a bit in the early game action. However, one name that is pretty consistently at the top of the play-by-play log is Tyler Herro. He’s taken one of their first three shots in three of the last four games. One of those in there is a first shot as well. Having just one first bucket this year might not be a good sign, but the volume is there for me to get down on him in this spot.
First Scorer Bet for December 20: Tyler Herro (TBD)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first scorer bets for December 20, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
