Thursday night brings us a two-game slate of high-powered action on TNT. The Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers will tip off at 7:30 p.m., and then the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers will tip off at 10 p.m. Let’s dive into the NBA first basket odds for tonight’s 76ers-Bucks and Suns-Lakers games as we hope to find the best bet. If you’re hungry for more action, check out today’s top player props — or our NBA betting tools or our NBA betting promos! We’re targeting FanDuel for this one, and all first basket props there are inclusive of free throws.
First Basket Odds & Best Bet Tonight for Thursday, Oct. 26
76ers-Bucks First Basket Odds
Tonight’s 76ers-Bucks game pits Joel Embiid against Brook Lopez for the opening tip. Lopez went 3-for-4 in opening tips against Embiid last year, and the Bucks went 3-for-4 in scoring the first basket. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Embiid both own odds of +440 to score first tonight.
Damian Lillard clocks in at +650 with Milwaukee’s other two starters at +800. The 76ers have just Embiid and Tobias Harris with odds shorter than that number. We haven’t seen either of these teams take the floor this year, but Embiid dominated the 76ers in usage rate last year with a 37%.
Suns-Lakers First Basket Odds
The Suns-Lakers game will feature Anthony Davis against Jusuf Nurkic to determine opening possession. These two went 1-1 for opening tips last year. Phoenix’s Kevin Durant owns the shortest odds at +440 but Nurkic and Davis aren’t far behind at +550.
Nurkic scored first for the Suns on Tuesday off a Durant assist. Davis scored first for the Lakers. Davis leads the Lakers in usage rate (25.9%). With Devin Booker and Bradley Beal doubtful, Durant’s team-high usage rate (29.2%) stands out. Booker (29.2%) ranks second in the metric.
OddsShopper’s NBA Tools & Tips
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