Best first basket scorer picks for Heat vs. Nuggets in NBA Finals Game 1

There are a bunch of different ways to bet on the NBA Finals in the prop market, but one of the more exhilarating markets is the first basket scorer.

In Game 1, the odds for the first basket scorer have been released, with Nikola Jokic headlining the starters as the favorite.

First basket scorers are hard to predict, as it can always depend on who wins the jump ball, but they usually pay out at pretty sizable odds.

Here are two picks to consider for Game 1 of the Denver Nuggets-Miami Heat NBA Finals on Thursday night:

Heat vs. Nuggets first basket scorer odds

Heat vs. Nuggets first basket picks

Bam Adebayo (+650)

If you’re going to bet on a Heat player to score first in this game, Adebayo is the play. The Heat big man has done a great job winning jump balls this season (54 percent of the time) compared to Nikola Jokic (48 percent of the time).

Not only that, but Adebayo scored the first field goal for the team in 31 percent of Miami’s games this season. No other player has a higher percentage than 19 percent.

It’s possible Miami goes to Adebayo right away to attack Jokic early and try and force a foul.

Aaron Gordon (+1300)

Aaron Gordon is a sneaky bet as the last person on the odds board.

During the Western Conference Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, Gordon scored Denver’s first basket in two of the four games, and he’s actually taken the team’s first field goal attempt in 24 percent of the games he’s played in.

Only Jokic (27 percent) and Jamal Murray (25 percent) are above Gordon in that statistic.

At +1300 he’s worth a sprinkle in this prop.

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.