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 February 5. 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 February 5.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
CHECK OUT THE SPORTS GAMBLING PODCAST’S DAILY BEST BETS
NBA First Scorer Props – February 5
Chicago Bulls vs. Minnesota Timberwolves
Tipoff – 8:00 pm EST
Target Center – Minneapolis, MN
Broadcast – NBA TV
The Bulls are our favorite team on the first bucket to fade, and for good reason. They rank 30th in tipoff win percentage and 30th in first bucket success rate. It would be easy to back anyone against this squad, but it’s especially easy with it being the Timberwolves. They are in the top ten in the league when it comes to both of the aforementioned stats. They hold a 40.0% lead over the Bulls on the tip. With the tip winner getting 65.5% of the first buckets – you have to back the Timberwolves big here.
Over the last three games, we’ve seen someone emerge as being a first bucket favorite. Rudy Gobert is getting a majority of the early work for Minnesota. In that span, he’s taken two of the three first shots for the Timberwolves. The Bulls have been giving up a lot of first buckets to guards, but the volume is too much to overlook here.
First Scorer Bet for February 5: Rudy Gobert (+550)
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Denver Nuggets
Tipoff – 9:00 pm EST
Ball Arena – Denver, CO
Broadcast – NBA TV
Another team I’ve taken to fading is the New Orleans Pelicans. They are another squad that is winning almost no tipoffs. They have won just 30.0% of them on the year – putting them in 28th in the league. They aren’t much better on the first bucket, where they rank 26th. The Nuggets, on the other hand, are in the top ten in the league in scoring first. Even though they aren’t great on the tip, they still have a 14.0% lead over the Pelicans – which is enough for me to be on them.
One of my favorite plays for the Nuggets is Michael Porter Jr. He gets an oddly large share of the early shots for the team. If you take the first three shots in each of the last three games, Porter Jr. has 44.4% of all of those shots. While he’s getting a lot of that early action, he has only scored first four times this year. The numbers would suggest more, so we’ll expect a move back to the mean.
First Scorer Bet for February 5: Michael Porter Jr. (+600)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first scorer bets for February 5, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
