NBA First Basket Prop Odds & Picks: Value on Adebayo, Tucker in Game 2

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.

Bam Adebayo & PJ Tucker

The 76ers take on the Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Wednesday. Bam Adebayo (68% opening-tip win rate) will be taking on Deandre Jordan (61% win rate) in the tip-off. Adebayo has faced Jordan in four opening tip-offs over the past two seasons and won all four.

The Heat score first 49% of the time, while the 76ers score first 45% of the time. The teams have played five games against each other this year with the 76ers scoring first in four of those contests. I’m not sure how relevant some of the head-to-head data is as Joel Embiid and Adebayo have each missed two of the five games.

I think the Heat will win the tip-off, but they are hard to figure out as there is little consistency in scoring first. In looking at the Miami roster, Adebayo has cashed the first field goal twice as much as anyone else on the team. Philadelphia allows opposing teams centers to score first in 26% of games, small forwards to score first in 22% of games and power forwards to score first in 21% of games.

This is the hardest second-round matchup to pick who will score the first basket. I’m playing Adebayo and PJ Tucker tonight.

Plays

Bam Adebayo 1st basket — FanDuel (+420) Risk 0.75U
PJ Tucker 1st FG — Barstool (+1400) Risk .25U

76ers vs. Heat First Basket Data