Germantas Kneita
There are 6 games on the NBA slate on Monday night, including an NBA TV double-header. It will see several Eastern Conference teams desperately try and improve their position in the standings ahead of the playoffs. The 8th-seeded Atlanta Hawks will be taking on the 7th-seeded Miami Heat with the teams separated by just 1.5 games. The result of this one could go a long way to determining who would be at home for the first play-in game. Then later, the Toronto Raptors will visit the Denver Nuggets while hoping to keep pace with the earlier mentioned pair.
But for now let’s dive straight into my favorite NBA first basket scorer props for tonight’s games. And don’t forget to take a look at the rest of our NBA predictions for tonight’s slate, as well.
Trail Blazers vs Pistons first basket best bet: Jaden Ivey (+750)
With 6’8” Drew Eubanks jumping for the opening possession for the Portland Trail Blazers, the Detroit Pistons should be well positioned to get tonight’s first attempt. With the lack of size on the inside, the Pistons will be looking to attack and finish in the paint from the start. One player that will be in good shape to do that is rookie Jaden Ivey. The explosive guard will be up against Damian Lillard, who has the worst defensive rating of all Trail Blazers starters. If Ivey can get past Lillard off the dribble, there should be little resistance on the inside. Over the last 10 games, the Trail Blazers are 28th in opponent points in the paint. Ivey could be set to benefit from that on Monday.
Pelicans vs Kings first basket best bet: Brandon Ingram (+370)
Brandon Ingram has been on an amazing first basket scoring run for the New Orleans Pelicans. In his last 9 starts he has made the game’s opening field goal on 5 occasions. Domantas Sabonis not being very effective at winning the opening tip for the Sacramento Kings. The Lithuanian has done so just 4 times over his last 10 games. That should help ensure the Pelicans will get the first shot. The Kings are just 29th in defensive rating during that time and could struggle to force a stop. Considering the frequency the visitors have been turning to Ingram to begin games, this looks to be a good value pick.
Raptors vs Nuggets first basket best bet: Jakob Poeltl (+1000)
Jakob Poeltl has taken on the Nikola Jokic in jumping for the opening possession twice this season as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. Considering that he gained his team possession both times should mean he is more than capable of doing that for the Toronto Raptors, too. On the Raptors he is a bigger offensive threat, himself, too. He has upped his points per game average to 15.1 over his last 9 outings. Do not be surprised to see him utilized in a pick-and-roll situation from the get-go. Fred VanVleet is averaging 10 assists per game over his last 5 games. The point guard should be well positioned to set up Poeltl tonight for the opening bucket.
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