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 23. 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 23.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Scorer Props – March 23
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Detroit Pistons
Tipoff – 3:00 pm EST
Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
Broadcast – NBA TV
One spot I really like in the frist scorer market for Sunday is the Pistons to score first in the early game. It’s only listed at -140 right now, but the Pistons have all the major advantages you’re looking for. As a team, they’ve score first 59.2% of the time, which puts them third in the NBA. They might be first with their conversions if they had a little better luck on the jump ball. They are just below league average in that metric, but that shouldn’t matter here. The Pelicans are 29th in the NBA in winning that first possession and are just one of three teams who haven’t cracked 30%. That should give the Pistons the boost they need to be a sure thing here.
It may be a touch on the chalky side, but even as the odds on favorite, I see value in playing Cade Cunningham here. Not only is he getting the bulk of the Pistons work during the game, but he really is getting so much of the early action. He’s taken half of their early shots (defined as the team’s first three attempts of the game) in each of the last two games and took the first shot in both of them. I think he finally gets one to fall in the matinee.
First Scorer Bet for March 23: Cade Cunningham (+400)
Boston Celtics vs. Portland Trail Blazers
Tipoff – 6:00 pm EST
Moda Center – Portland, OR
Broadcast – NBA TV
The Celtics head to the west coast for a early evening matchup and I like them to get on the board first in this one. They’re coming in at -165 to get the first bucket and there’s plenty of value to be had in that line. They lead the Blazers in all the major metrics that indicate first bucket success. They have 10.7% lead when it comes to winning the tip. With the tip winners getting the first bucket 65.5% of the time, that should be enough to back them. However, it’s also worth noting the Celtics have a 7.8% lead in terms of conversions.
The Celtics are fully in the ‘rest-the-starters’ portion of their season as they near the playoffs. Jaylen Brown is out, and Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis are both listed as questionable. As a result, let’s go down ballot a little bit for a play. Other than the three mentioned, there is only one player that has more than two first buckets for the Celtics all season and that’s Derrick White. He had a bit of a slow shooting game against the Jazz on Friday, I think he’ll come out of the gate strong on Sunday to change that trend.
First Scorer Bet for March 23: Derrick White (+750)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first scorer bets for March 23, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
