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 24. 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 24.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Bucket Props – April 24
New York Knicks vs. Detroit Pistons
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
Broadcast – TNT
The Pistons are in great position to score the first bucket in this one. They have been not so great on the tip this year, coming in just below league average at 48.7%. However, despite that, they have still managed to score a ton of first buckets. They rank 3rd in the NBA in first bucket success rate – only behind the Grizzlies and the Cavaliers. The added bonus in this one is that they do actually have a tip advantage here. The Knicks come in 2.5% behind them and are finishing the buckets at a far worse rate. They rank 23rd in that category. As a result, I like the Pistons to score first at -125.
If we want to get greedy and look for an individual player, look no further than Tim Hardaway Jr. He comes in here with longshot odds and scored first eight times for the Pistons this season. Additionally, they seem to be content to let him fire away early in games right now. He’s taken the first Pistons shot in both of the playoff games so far. He’s bound to get something to fall and when it does, we’ll be holding the ticket.
First Bucket Bet for April 24: Tim Hardaway Jr. (+900)
Denver Nuggets vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Tipoff – 10:00 pm EST
Intuit Dome – Inglewood, CA
Broadcast – NBA TV
The Nuggets have slight advantages on the Clippers in all the predictive measures for first bucket scoring. They have a 1.9% advantage on the tip wins and a 2.0% advantage on the first buckets. Those alone aren’t much to go by, but it shows they should have some success. However, the Clippers have gotten on the board first in both games of this series so far. With their numbers being this close, and a lean to the Nuggets, I expect a regression to the mean here. Give me the Nuggets to score first at -115.
It may be a bit on the chalky side, but if we’re looking at a big game on the road, I’m looking to Nikola Jokic to score first. He’s been getting the bulk of the early work for the Nuggets in this series. In both games, he took two of the team’s first three shots. That volume is good enough for us to assume he’ll be active early in this one as well.
First Bucket Bet for April 24: Nikola Jokic (+550)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first bucket bets for April 24, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
