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 March 16. 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 March 16.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Scorer Props – March 16
Orlando Magic vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Tipoff – 1:00 pm EST
Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH
Broadcast – ABC
The home squad will walk into the Sunday afternoon game with all the advantages we look for on the first bucket. Firstly, they are the best team in the league on the tip. They are getting the first possession 80.3% of the time – which is 35.5% better than the Magic. They are also one of just two teams that have a better than 60.0% first bucket success rate, with the Grizzlies being the other. Meanwhile, the Magic are one of the league’s five worst teams when it comes to that metric at 41.8%. As a result, we’ll look to the Cavaliers to score first at -165.
There is nobody who is hotter on the first bucket right now than Max Strus. He has not only taken the first shot for the Cavaliers in two of their last three games, but he has taken the first shot of the game overall in those contests. Additionally, he splashed both the shots down to cash as the first bucket in each. Despite that level of success, he’s still betting off at a big number on Sunday – so why not roll the dice on him one more time to keep it going?
First Scorer Bet for March 16: Max Strus (+800)
Atlanta Hawks vs. Brooklyn Nets
Tipoff – 6:00 pm EST
Barclays Center – Brooklyn, NY
Broadcast – NBA TV
It’ll be the visiting team that we’re backing in this one, but it’s more of a fade of Brooklyn than it is a play on Atlanta. That’s not to say that the Hawks are bad on the early game metrics. They hover right around league average in both first bucket success rate and tipoff win percentage. The Nets, on the other hand, rank 23rd when it comes to scoring first. They’re even worse when it comes to winning the tip, where they rank 25th in the NBA. With all of those negative indicators, the Hawks at -130 look like a pretty solid play.
Another name that has been hot on the first bucket has been Mouhamed Gueye. The Hawks forward made his way into the starting rotation and instantly started being a first bucket threat. He’s started just 15 games on the year and scored first four times already. That’s 26.7% of all the games he’s started. All four of those games have come since January 30th, which is a really nice month and a half long stretch for us to ride here.
First Scorer Bet for March 16: Mouhamed Gueye (+600)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first scorer bets for March 16, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
