NBA Best First Basket Bets Today – April 16

The NBA play-in tournament began Tuesday with the Orlando Magic and Golden State Warriors booking their spots in the NBA Playoffs.

Orlando routed Atlanta 120-95, and Golden State edged out Memphis 121-116.

The Grizzlies made a ferocious comeback after trailing for most of the first half by double digits and seeing their superstar point guard, Ja Morant, get injured during the third quarter.

Morant eventually returned to the game, hobbling around, and the Grizzlies had a chance to tie the game when trailing by three in the dying seconds. 

To their dismay, they failed to get the inbounds pass off and turned it over due to a five-second violation, resulting in an anticlimactic finish.

Jimmy Butler went into “playoff Jimmy” mode and led the Warriors with 38 points. Steph Curry was his usual sharp self from the field and poured in 37.

We’ve provided two first-basket picks for tonight’s games for Bam Adebayo (MIA at CHI, 7:30 p.m. ET) and Anthony Davis (DAL at SAC, 10:00 p.m. ET). 

Remember to bet responsibly and carefully watch your bankroll by not spending too much of it on one wager.

Note: Odds were correct at the time of writing.

Bam Adebayo (+500) at bet365

Miami’s veteran power forward and center has made 15 first baskets in 78 games (19%), ranking him first on the team. He’s also managed to make 27% of Miami’s first baskets.

The 27-year-old ended the regular season averaging 18.1 points per game, hitting 48.5% of field goals and attempting 14.3 shots per game.

The Heat have a height advantage for the opening tip-off, with 7-footer Kel’el Ware set to face 6-foot-10 Nikola Vucevic.

According to BestOdds’ first basket stats, Miami won 64% of its opening tips compared to Chicago’s 19% throughout the entire season.

In their last seven games, the Heat have won the opening tip 71% of the time compared to Chicago (29%).

This year, Ware is 2-0 against Vucevic in opening tip-offs.

Ware and Vucevic faced off as recently as one week ago for the opening tip, with Ware besting his Montenegrin counterpart. They previously battled on Feb. 4.

The Heat have scored the first basket in 52.4% of contests this campaign compared to the Bulls (34.1%).

At bet365, Adebayo is favored (+500) to win the tip, followed by his teammates Andrew Wiggins (+600) and Ware (+650). Vucevic (+650) is the first Bull to be listed. 

Oddsmakers at bet365 are offering better value than every other operator for this wager.

Odds Comparison for Adebayo First Scorer

Sportsbook	Odds
bet365	+500
BetMGM	+475
FanDuel	+460
Caesars	+430
DraftKings	+425
Hard Rock Bet	+425

Anthony Davis (+550) at bet365

While the play-in had the eyes of the NBA world fixated on it Tuesday night, a private meeting between Dallas general manager Nico Harrison, Mavs Brass and select Dallas media members took place earlier in the day.

Harrison ripped off some wild quotes about how he doesn’t regret trading Luka Doncic and that he believed the Slovenian wouldn’t sign the super-max, according to Mavericks reporters who attended the meeting (recording devices and phones weren’t allowed).

Mavs fans are still reeling and will probably never get over (rightfully so) the Feb. 1 trade that sent Doncic to the Lakers and brought Davis to Dallas.

While Davis might not be the long-term answer for Dallas at 32 years old, he’s managed to break out and become comfortable after suffering an injury during his debut.

In April, he’s led his new team in scoring, averaging 24.3 points per game, and is coming off a 23-point triple-double in a win over Toronto last Friday.

The 10-time NBA All-Star has only made one first basket for the Mavs in nine games (11.1%) but has managed to attempt the first shot in contests 33.3% of the time.

Regarding the whole season with both the Lakers and Mavericks, the Kentucky product has made eight first baskets in 51 starts (16%) and has attempted the first shot for his respective ball club 27% of the time. 

During his last five starts, he’s made the first field goal at a 40% clip for the Mavs and has attempted the first shot for them at an 80% rate.

Opening tips haven’t always been pretty this year for Dallas, with Derek Lively II sometimes being injured and ruled out.

The 7-foot-1 center is healthy and owns a significant height advantage over Sacramento center Domantas Sabonis (6-foot-10), giving Dallas a massive edge for the opening tip on Wednesday.

In the outside chance Dallas opts for Gafford or Davis to take the tip-off, both are 6-foot-10.

The Mavericks have scored the first basket in 56.1% of games, with the Bulls coming in much lower at 41.5%. 

At bet365, Davis (+550) is listed as the joint-favorite to score first, with PJ Washington and Domantas Sabonis. 

Other sportsbooks such as DraftKings and BetMGM list him as the clear-cut favorite to score first at +425, making the price at bet365 more eye-catching.

Odds Comparison for Davis First Scorer

Sportsbook	Odds
bet365	+550
Hard Rock Bet	+475
FanDuel	+450
BetMGM	+425
DraftKings	+425

Note: Certain bookmakers weren’t listing Davis at the time of writing.