Andrew Ortenberg
Show Bio
The NBA is approaching the home stretch, and we have another interesting slate on Thursday. We have a small card with only 2 games on the docket, but they’re both good ones, televised nationally by TNT. What better way to celebrate the huge slate than with some first basket bets?
First the 76ers will host the Nets in their highly anticipated first meeting since the Ben Simmons trade. And then the Nuggets will host the Warriors in the nightcap. Let’s dive into the first basket market, using odds from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Warriors vs Nuggets: Aaron Gordon +750
With there being only 2 games on Thursday, there was only really one first basket bet that jumped out to me. I liked Gordon the other night at +700, and now his odds are even better, even though I like the matchup more. For starters, when looking at a first basket bet it’s very important to handicap who is likely to have the first possession.
And in this case I’d be pretty surprised if it isn’t the Nuggets. Kevon Looney will likely be at center court for the tip-off for Golden State, and he hasn’t fared well there this season. Looney is winning only 38.5% of his jump balls on the year. Conversely, Denver big man Nikola Jokic is winning around 60% of his jump balls. From there, I think Gordon is still being underrated.
These teams just played each other a couple of games ago, and Gordon took 3 of the team’s first 4 shots in that matchup with Golden State. In the game before that, Gordon scored 28 on 17 field-goal attempts. Over the past couple of weeks, he’s had a consistent trend of taking shots early in the first quarter. I expect that trend to continue.
Pickswise is the home of free NBA picks and predictions. Make sure to also check out our NBA parlays and NBA prop bets tabs for more expert picks.
