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 January 9. 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 January 9.
Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.
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NBA First Scorer Props – January 9
Golden State Warriors vs. Detroit Pistons
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Little Caesars Arena – Detroit, MI
Broadcast – NBA TV
The home squad should walk into Thursday’s contest with a load of advantages in terms of the first score. The biggest of those advantages is just how bad the Warriors are on the tip. They’re currently winning just 22.2% of all tips on the year, which puts them 29th in the NBA. The Pistons are an above average team in that category, which already gives them a massive advantage. Combine that with their 8.2% lead in terms of conversion rates – of which the Pistons rank in the top 5 – and you have to go with someone from Detroit here.
There’s a lot of guys seeing action at the beginning of Pistons games, but the one I like most here is Jalen Duren. While Cade Cunningham took the team’s first four shots two games ago, the consistency with him early in the game is just not there. Additionally, the Warriors have a big gap in the middle on defense that should be available for Duren to exploit. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s taken one of the team’s first three shots in two of the last three games.
First Scorer Bet for January 9: Jalen Duren (+850)
Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Orlando Magic
Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Kia Center – Orlando, FL
Broadcast – NBA TV
It’s the visitor in this one that will have the clear advantages, but like the last game, it is again because we are fading a team. The Magic are awful in both the first score successes and the tip wins. They rank 24th and 26th in those two categories respectfully. The Timberwovles, meanwhile, are a top ten team in the league when it comes to conversions on the wins. They also are above average when it comes to winning the tip. As a result, we’ll stick with them here.
Jaden McDaniels is a player we get a lot of love for in these early bucket plays. It’s not that he’s the most prolific player on the squad in the early game, but he is always the most underrated. We are getting his odds here at +750 on a guy who has taken one of the team’s first three shots in three of the last four games. That’s value that we can’t look the other way on in this one.
First Scorer Bet for January 9: Jaden McDaniels (+750)
If you’d like even more info to help make your first scorer bets for January 9, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.
