2023 NBA Playoffs First Basket Prop Bets & Predictions Today – May 9: Back Suns to Score First

OddsJam’s NBA betting expert is here with his top first basket prediction for today’s slate of NBA playoff action.

Phoenix Suns vs. Denver Nuggets First Basket Pick

10 p.m. ET

On Tuesday night, the Suns travel back to Denver for Game 5 of their series against the No. 1 seed Nuggets. After dropping the first two games, the Suns have battled back behind some truly incredible performances from Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, and are now tied at two games apiece going into Game 5.

Over the course of the season, the Suns and Nuggets have actually both been reasonably close as first basket scorers. The Suns scored first 52.5% of the time, while the Nuggets scored first half the time. That said, the Suns are much better at winning the tip, doing so 62% of the time compared to 49.5% of the time for the Nuggets.

Normally, I would take the Nuggets in a close matchup like this one as they have the best overall player in Nikola Jokic, a player who gets easy shots for himself and all of his teammates — but over this series and the playoffs as a whole, Devin Booker has been positively unleashed, and picking against him feels foolish. I’m taking Booker to score first in this one, as he continues his otherworldly playoff run.

First Basket Scorer of the Day: Devin Booker | Shop for the Best Odds Below!