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The NBA play-ins begin on Tuesday night as the 7th and 8th seeds in each conference collide. In the East the Atlanta Hawks will visit the Miami Heat, while in the West the Minnesota Timberwolves travel to take on the Los Angeles Lakers. The losers will face off in a win-or-go-home game against the winners of the 9th vs 10th seed matchups.
You can check out our NBA predictions for both of tonight’s games. But for now take a look at my favourite first-basket scorer props below.
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Hawks vs Heat first basket best bet: Trae Young (+700)
The Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat have played against each other 4 times this season. Clint Capela and Bam Adebayo jumped against each other in 2 of those games, with the Hawks man gaining the opening possession for his team on both occasions. They are likely to come up against each other once more tonight, and the Hawks’ man is likely to come out on top. Thy have had more success winning the opening tip over the last 10 games too, doing it on 5 occasions to the Heat’s 4.
From there Trae Young should take over. In his last 8 starts for the Hawks, he has made the team’s opening basket on 3 occasions, which is more than anyone else on their roster. The Heat have aggressive defenders on the inside with Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. The same is not the case with their guards, which is something Young could exploit. The Hawks’ offense has been clicking too, ranking 5th in offensive rating over the last 10 games. With his screen-setting ability Capela should be able to provide Young with space get his shot off. He is the main cog in the Hawks’ offense, so with the importance of this game, look for him to take over from the get-go.
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Timberwolves vs Lakers first basket best bet: Anthony Davis (+450)
The Timberwolves have decided to suspend Rudy Gobert following the incident on their bench in their game against the New Orleans Pelicans. And now with Karl-Anthony Towns listed as doubtful to play, they could find themselves without both of their biggest bodies. That should give Anthony Davis a great chance to gain the opening possession for the Lakers. With the Timberwolves struggling defensively over the last 10 games, ranking 18th in defensive rating, the first shot could be enough for the hosts.
With the Timberwolves shorthanded on the inside, do not be surprised to see the Lakers once again turning to Davis. Over the last 10 games he has opened the scoring for the Lakers on 4 occasions. No one else on the roster has done so more often. If Towns does end up playing despite his strained calf, the Lakers could look to test him early, especially on the defensive end. He has knocked down the Lakers’ first shot against the Timberwolves in 1 of 2 games in which he appeared against them this season. I’m backing him to do so once again.
Check out Prop Holliday’s top NBA player props for tonight’s games
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