Some people like to sweat out a bet for 48 hard minutes – others like immediate satisfaction. Count us as being in the latter, which is why we like to get down with NBA first scorer props. And we’ve decided to pass that knowledge on to you with our first scorer bets for December 22. Go here for NBA Championship odds.

Of course, there are plenty out there taking blind guesses at this stuff. It’s easy to pick the most popular player or look at what happened in the last game. However, we spent the time pouring through the analytics to make sure that we give you the best odds to stay in the green on these first scorer props for December 22.

Come check out what we have cooked up for this slate of games.

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NBA First Scorer Props – December 22

Indiana Pacers vs. Sacramento Kings

Tipoff – 6:00 pm EST
Golden 1 Center – Sacramento, CA
Broadcast – NBA TV

At this stage of the season, these teams are almost identical in terms of the rate of which they score the first bucket. In fact, they are within 2% in terms of that data. However, the Pacers have been far better at getting that first possession. You can thank Domantas Sabonis’ 25.0% success rate on the tips for that fact. That rate dropped to that point thanks to Sabonis losing a tip to Lakers guard Austin Reaves last night. Myles Turner should have no problem getting the Pacers the first possession on Sunday. And with the tip winners getting roughly two-thirds of the first buckets this year, the play has to be with Indiana.

In the last three Pacers games, only one player shows up in the early shot data consistently. That player, to some’s surprise, is Bennedict Mathurin. While that name might be a surprise to some, it isn’t to people tracking first buckets this year. He has four already, which equates to a third of the successes for the Pacers on the year. He’s also regularly right there for more. Let’s get him back on the board for another early one here.

First Scorer Bet for December 22: Bennedict Mathurin (+900)

Denver Nuggets vs. New Orleans Pelicans

Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Smoothie King Center – New Orleans, LA
Broadcast – NBA TV

Despite the Nuggets putting together a disappointing season, by their standards at least, they have been excellent at scoring first. In fact, no team in the NBA has scored first more consistently than the Nuggets – currently sitting on a 68.0% average. That’s despite being a slightly below average team during the tip, which is impressive. If we need more of a reason to get behind Denver here, take a look at the tip win percentage of the Pelicans. They’re 13.0% worse than the Nuggets and rank 27th in the NBA. As a result, the Nuggets will have an advantage at the thing they usually have to overcome.

If we’re going the same route as with Bennedict Mathurin and looking for someone consistently getting the early game action, let’s look to Michael Porter Jr. The Nuggets’ small forward has taken one of the team’s first three shots in each of the last three games. In one of those games he took the first and the third shot as well. Lucky for us, he’s still down the ballot a bit due to his shot attempt numbers across the whole game. However, we’re only looking for them early, where he’s been plenty consistent.

First Scorer Bet for December 22: Michael Porter Jr. (+600)

If you’d like even more info to help make your first scorer bets for December 22, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.