NBA “First Basket” props are like an appetizer to a full menu of playoff betting... if that appetizer was a deep-fried ghost pepper swimming in sriracha.
Nothing gets you sweating right out of the gate like “first basket” NBA picks, which is as simple as it sounds: bet on the player to score the first basket of the game.
For tonight's Pacers vs. Celtics game, I'm looking at Pascal Siakam and Jayson Tatum. Let's get into it.
Pacers vs. Celtics first basket picks
Click on each name to jump to the full analysis
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Indiana Pacers
First basket pick: Pascal Siakam
(+750 at FanDuel)
It took a long time for the Indiana Pacers to crack the scoreboard in Game 1, falling behind 12-0 before Pascal Siakam finally found the basket at the 8:35 mark of the first quarter. And that was after Indiana won the opening tip.
I actually featured Siakam as the top choice to score first for the Pacers and he had his chances before finally snapping that cold streak, getting blocked at the rim and missing two jumpers in his first three shots of the game.
Siakam has now taken the first shot in five of Indiana’s 14 playoff games and has recorded the team’s first bucket in four of those contests. He was priced at +800 to score first in Game 1 and can be had at +750 for this same option in Game 2.
Boston Celtics
First basket pick: Jayson Tatum
(+625 at BetMGM)
Jaylen Brown has been the go-to guy for the Boston Celtics on their opening possessions. He scored the Celtics’ first basket in almost 24% of their games this season and so far in the playoffs, he’s cracked the scoresheet first in five of Boston’s 11 outings. That includes an opening poster dunk in Game 1.
But who set him up for that slam? Jayson Tatum picked off a pass, drew two defenders, and dished it off to the streaking Brown. Tatum is actually the Celtics’ leading scorer in first quarters this postseason but hasn’t been the “first basket” result in a long time.
That has his odds climbing to as high as +625 while Brown is as low as +450, which offers value on a guy who just dropped 36 points in Game 1. The Celtics didn’t win the opening tip on Tuesday but drew the first possession in almost 69% of their games during the regular season. I’ll take Tatum at this taller price point.
Pacers at Celtics first basket odds
- Jaylen Brown (+420)
- Jayson Tatum (+490)
- Jrue Holiday (+700)
- Myles Turner (+750)
- Pascal Siakam (+750)
- Al Horford (+900)
- Andrew Nembhard (+950)
- Derrick White (+1,100)
- Tyrese Haliburton (+1,200)
- Aaron Nesmith (+1,300)
Odds courtesy of FanDuel
