The NBA playoffs continue on Monday night with a TNT double-header. The first of the games will see the Brooklyn Nets try and steal home court advantage away from the Philadelphia 76ers, who dominated the first game. That will be followed by the Sacramento Kings hosting the Golden State Warriors. The visitors will try and put their poor regular season road form behind them and level the series.
You can see all of our NBA Playoff predictions, but for now, take a look at my first basket scorer selections below.
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Warriors vs Kings first basket best bet: Stephen Curry (+600)
Kevon Looney has jumped at the opening tip in all 5 games the Warriors have taken on the Kings this season. Four of those have been against Domantas Sabonis and he has helped the Warriors gain the first possession on every occasion. There is nothing to suggest that will change here. The team was torched by De’Aaron Fox in the first game, with the Kings guard going off for 38 points. Look for the Warriors to make him work on the defensive end early, which is where Stephen Curry steps in.
The Warriors superstar shot above 50 percent from the field in the previous game, leading the visitors in scoring. However, he only attempted 20 shots, so do not be surprised to see him look for his own shot here. He shied away from the paint in the first matchup, with 6 attempts from inside the arc. With the lack of rim protection provided by Domantas Sabonis, look for Curry to look to get on the inside from the get-go. After all, he did make 5 of those attempts the last time out. I am expecting his first basket to come that way tonight.
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Nets vs 76ers first basket best bet: Joel Embiid (+270)
In the first game between the sides, Joel Embiid took 2 of the first 3 shots for the Philadelphia 76ers. He was able to knock one of these down and subsequently make the first shot of the game overall. Considering that he has now also won the opening tip against Nic Claxton on 2 out of 3 occasions, he is likely to get the first chance here too. The 76ers star led his team in scoring the last time out and should be favourite to get the ball early here. Establishing him on the inside helped the 76ers get better perimeter looks. The hosts went on to make 48.8% of their 3-point attempts. With the bulk advantage Embiid enjoys on the inside, he should be able to convert efficiently.
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