With the NBA back in action after the All-Star break, the many basketball markets on DraftKings Sportsbook are getting plenty of attention. One popular way to find a quick-hitter that delivers a win early in the game is the first point props available for each game. Finding the first scorer in any contest is a hit that can bring big-time returns, as the odds are relatively long shot.
As a whole, it’s a very simple market, since it’s just a matter of which player will score the first point in the game. Not much explanation needed!
Let’s take a look at two of the first scorer props that make sense to consider as long shot plays this Friday night.
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First Scorer: Bilal Coulibaly, Washington Wizards vs. Indiana Pacers (+800)
Coulibaly and the Wizards are hosting the Pacers for a second straight matchup between the teams with two of the worst records in the Eastern Conference. Neither team plays a lot of defense, and the Pacers will be without several key starters.
In Thursday’s game, Jay Huff scored the first point, but Coulibaly did get the start for the Wizards, and he finished with 12 points in his 23 minutes. Coulibaly took nine shots, and he has at least that many field goal attempts in five of his last seven games.
Coulibaly has scored the first basket in four of his 34 games (11.8%) this season, which is the highest mark of any player in this contest by a wide margin. Huff has done so in just 5.4% of his games, but has shorter odds at +650, so I’ll go with Coulibaly to get the first bucket of the game this Friday night.
First Scorer: LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers vs. Los Angeles Clippers (+770)
The Lakers and Clippers meet in the late game on Friday night to finish out the ESPN doubleheader. The Clippers are finishing a back-to-back, while the Lakers should be rested and ready after eight days off for the All-Star break.
The Lakers have a totally clean injury report for this matchup, so Luka Doncic will be back to run the show after missing the last four games before the break with a hamstring injury. Luka has the shortest odds to be the first scorer at +620 in the game, but I like the extra value of rolling with LeBron.
James has scored the first point in seven of his 36 games (19.4%), including two of his last 10 games. King James could be in his last stretch of regular-season action, so expect him to be aggressive and his teammates to defer to him over the next few weeks.
