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St. Patrick’s Day brings an 8-game NBA slate to kickstart the weekend. The night’s featured games on NBA TV will see 4 teams that are right in the mix in their respective conferences. In the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers are separated by just 2 games, while the Atlanta Hawks have the Toronto Raptors breathing down their necks.
Take a look at my NBA first-basket scorer props for Friday below and remember to check out the rest of today’s NBA picks too.
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Grizzlies vs Spurs first basket best bet: Zach Collins (+850)
The San Antonio Spurs have had some relative success jumping for the ball. Over the last 10 games they have had the opening possession on 5 occasions. There is a good chance they will have the ball to begin this game against the Memphis Grizzlies too. The visitors have Jaren Jackson Jr. available, who is the league leader in blocks per game. I expect the Spurs to look to try to force him out of the paint from the get-go. That would involve establishing Zach Collins as a perimeter threat. The center is making 57.1% of his 3-point attempts in March. If he gets hot early, Jackson Jr. would have to respect him and close out aggressively on the perimeter. Look for Collins to open the scoring, perhaps with a triple.
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76ers vs Hornets first basket best bet: Joel Embiid (+280)
With Mark Williams remaining out tonight for the Charlotte Hornets, Nick Richards should once again get the start. That would leave Joel Embiid with a major size advantage when jumping for the tip and in the post throughout the game. It should make him a clear #1 option for the 76ers first possession too. He has made the team’s opening shot in 3 games over his last 10 starts. The Hornets are in the bottom 10 in the league in opponent points in the paint during that stretch. They have also scored the game’s opening basket just 3 times during that time. It will give Embiid and the 76ers a great chance of doing that tonight.
Check out JutPicks’ NBA player prop picks for Friday’s games
Pelicans vs Rockets first basket best bet: Jonas Valanciunas (+600)
The Houston Rockets have won the tip just twice in their last 10 games. They will struggle to change that against Jonas Valanciunas, who has won 60% of his jump balls during that time. The Lithuanian should have a size advantage over both Jabari Smith Jr. and Alepren Sengun, with the Rockets pair likely to struggle dealing with his physicality. With the Rockets 27th in defensive rating over the last 10, they should issues forcing stops too. Valanciunas has knocked down the Pelicans’ first shot 4 times over the last 10 games, just behind Brandon Ingram, who has done so on 5 occasions. With the center having a clearer matchup advantage, I am giving him the edge.
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