The NBA has six games on the scoreboard this Saturday, giving everyone plenty of ways to get involved in the many basketball markets on DraftKings Sportsbook. 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 shots.
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 longshot plays this Saturday.
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First Scorer: Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons at Chicago Bulls (+660)
Duren should be in a favorable matchup against the Bulls, who traded Nikola Vucevic at the trade deadline and are playing a little smaller in the frontcourt. The center will be returning from his two-game suspension for the brawl with Charlotte, and the team could try to involve him early down low.
Duren has scored the first basket in six of his 44 games this season (13.6%), which is both the most times and the highest percentage of any player in the typical starting lineup for either team.
As all these first point plays are, Duren is a longshot option, but both the numbers and narrative make him a good play at this price.
First Scorer: Karl-Anthony Towns, New York Knicks vs. Houston Rockets (+594)
Let’s go with another big man as my second pick in the first scorer props market this Saturday. KAT and the Knicks host the Rockets in the final game of the night, with both teams looking to pick up a big win on National TV.
Towns and Jalen Brunson have combined to score the first point in 21 of the Knicks’ 56 games this season, with Brunson scoring first in 11 of his 52 games (21.2%) and Towns in 10 of his 53 games (18.9%). Brunson’s odds are lower at +474, so KAT represents a little more value.
He should also get a little more favorable matchup since Brunson will likely go against Amen Thompson, while Towns will be taking on either Tari Eason, Alperen Sengun or Jabari Smith Jr. In their loss to the Pistons on Thursday, Brunson made the first basket on an assist from Towns, and we could have a role reversal for this matchup against Houston on Saturday night.
