NBA First Basket will break down some of his favorite NBA plays of the day here, and will track all his bets in The Action Network app.
NBA First Basket Prop Pick: Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, Kevin Love
| Odds | Vincent (+1100) / Strus (+1500) / Love (+1300) |
| Time | Wednesday, June 7 | 8:30 p.m. ET |
| Book | FanDuel | DraftKings |
The Miami Heat will host the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night in pivotal Game 3 of the NBA Finals.
Bam Adebayo (55% opening tip win rate) will face off against Nikola Jokic (48% win rate) for the opening tip-off. These two centers have split opening tip-offs over the past two seasons, with each winning three.
In four games this season between these two teams, each team has scored first twice. Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have cashed first basket tickets for the Nuggets, while Max Strus has cashed two first basket tickets for the Heat.
Both teams have struggled during the postseason on early possessions, with the Nuggets scoring first in 41% of games and the Heat scoring first in 36% of games. The Heat have been difficult all season to bet first baskets on, as they actually have the worst first field goal percentage in the league at 41.4%.
All of that being said, the energy in Kaseya Center on Wednesday night might be enough to fuel the Heat to make the first attempt in Game 3.
Adebayo has led the way for Miami, as he's taken the first team attempt in 36% of playoff games. Gabe Vincent is a close second, having taken the first Miami attempt in 27% of playoff games.
In the playoffs, the Nuggets have allowed the opposing point guard or shooting guard to make the first team basket in 71% of games.
I don't like Adebayo or Butler at their current odds, and Miami's success in Game 2 of the Finals was based on improved 3-point shooting from Strus and Vincent.
I like Vincent, Kevin Love and Strus in this game on Wednesday to score first. Over 75% of Strus' first team field goals were 3-point field goals this season, so I'll play him on the Exact First Field Goal – Player prop on DraftKings.
Pick: Max Strus Exact First FG – 3-Pointer +1500 play down to +1200 (Risk 0.25 units, DraftKings)
Pick: Kevin Love First FG +1300 play down to +1000 (Risk 0.2 units, DraftKings)
Pick: Gabe Vincent First Basket +1100 play down to +800 (Risk 0.3 units) |
Nuggets vs. Heat First Basket Prop Data
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