With the NBA Finals heading to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Game 3 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Indiana Pacers, basketball bettors have had to wait a long time between action.
If you’re sick of counting down minutes, why not take a fun and frenetic wager that only takes seconds to pay out?
My NBA picks focus on OKC and Indiana, and highlight a player from each that I like to light up the scoreboard first in Game 3 on Wednesday, June 11.
Thunder vs Pacers first basket picks
Click on each name to jump to the full analysis
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Oklahoma City Thunder
First basket pick: Chet Holmgren (+400 at bet365)
The Oklahoma City Thunder shook up their starting five in the NBA Finals, putting Cason Wallace in place of Isaiah Hartenstein. That leaves Chet Holmgren as the lone big man for OKC out of the gate.
Wallace was actually the first scorer for the Thunder in Game 2, following Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s opening bucket in Game 1, but Holmgren has been very active in this offense early in postseason contests.
Before the NBA Finals, Chet had attempted Oklahoma City’s first shot of the game five times and also tallied the first made field goal five times (although only three of those makes were on the first attempt of the game).
The 7-footer has won both jump balls to start the first two games of the finals, so OKC will likely get the opening possession. He bounced back from a bad Game 1 to finish with 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting in Game 2, aggressively attacking the rim early on.
Holmgren can score inside and out, and I believe the Thunder will try to get him going early, offering value on his first basket odds.
Indiana Pacers
First basket pick: Pascal Siakam (+700 at bet365)
Pascal Siakam has knocked down the Indiana Pacers’ first field goal of the game five times in the playoffs, including both NBA Finals outings.
He took and hit the first shot for Indiana in Game 2, and while he didn’t attempt the first field goal of Game 1, he eventually broke the seal for the Pacers with a layup at the 8:56 mark.
The 6-foot-8 Siakam is a matchup nightmare for OKC. The Thunder don’t have a clear check, either throwing smaller guards at Siakam or using lumbering 7-footers. He’s taken advantage of that matchup edge, scoring 34 points in the first two games.
On top of making five of the team’s first field goals in 18 postseason games, he’s also attempted the opening shot five times in the tournament.
Despite that trend and his opening buckets in the previous two games, Siakam is offering a +700 payout as first scorer of the game (due to OKC winning the first two tips).
Thunder vs Pacers first basket odds
- Chet Holmgren (+400)
- Jalen Williams (+550)
- Myles Turner (+600)
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (+650)
- Pascal Siakam (+700)
- Andrew Nembhard (+900)
- Aaron Nesmith (+1000)
Odds courtesy of bet365
