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 bucket props. And we’ve decided to pass that knowledge on to you with our first bucket bets for April 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 bucket props for April 8.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Bucket Props – April 8
Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH
Broadcast – NBA TV
There isn’t an easier first bucket spot to call in all of the NBA. The Bulls are the worst team in the league when it comes to getting first scores with just a 36.4% success rate. They are even worse when it comes to getting the opening tipoffs. They’ve won just 18.2% of the tips on the year and Nikola Vucevic is even worse than that. He’s won just 14.7% on his own. Meanwhile, on the other end of things, the Cavaliers are ranked number on in the league in both of those metrics. They have a 61.3% lead when it comes to winning the tip and a 26.4% lead when it comes to scoring first. There’s no reason to back anybody but the Cavaliers here.
If we’re looking for an individual player, the shot log points heavily at Donovan Mitchell. Unfortunately for us, he happens to be out of commission for this game on Tuesday. As a result, we’ll look to another player getting a lot of early looks. Darius Garland has taken one of the first three shots in two of the last three games, which includes one that was their first shot of the game. Additionally. he seems like the type of player that might be in line to get some of Mitchell’s extra looks.
First Bucket Bet for April 8: Darius Garland (TBD)
Golden State Warriors vs. Phoenix Suns
Tipoff – 10:00 pm EST
Footprint Center – Phoenix, AZ
Broadcast – TNT
Another team I love to fade in the first bucket market is the Golden State Warriors. They haven’t quite been as bad as the Bulls on these metrics – nobody has – but they have been well below league average. They rank 26th in both first bucket success rate and tipoff win rate. Meanwhile the Suns are putting up respectable in each of those spots. They rank 11th in tipoff win rate with an 12.8% lead over the Warriors. They also have a 9.0% lead when it comes to scoring the frist bucket. As a result, that’s enough for us to back Phoenix on Tuesday.
Late in the season is as good of a time as any to look for some down ballot options. If you take the first three shots from the Suns in each of their last three games, Ryan Dunn accounts for 33.3% of those. That inlcudes taking the first shot in two of the three games. That kind of volume can’t go unnoticed and as a result, we’ll take a stab on him here.
First Bucket Bet for April 8: Ryan Dunn (TBD)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first bucket bets for April 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.
