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 January 19. 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 January 19.

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

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NBA First Scorer Props – January 19

Brooklyn Nets vs. Golden Oklahoma City Thunder

Tipoff – 7:00 pm EST
Paycom Center – Oklahoma City, OK
Broadcast – NBA TV 

The Thunder are a just barely below average squad when it comes to both tip wins and first score success rate. They have a 47.6% average in both of those stats. While that isn’t something we’d look to tail, the Nets have been significantly worse. They rank 25th in first bucket successes and 27th at winning the tip. Those two numbers tell me to head to Oklahoma City with my pick for Sunday.

The Thunder are pretty banged up at the moment. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is listed as questionable and both centers, Isaiah Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren are out of Sunday. With all of these players missing, one player is getting extra looks -Luguentz Dort. Even with everybody healthy, he has four first scores on the year, and with them out of commission, he’s getting even more chances to do so.

First Scorer Bet for January 19: Luguentz Dort (+950)

Chicago Bulls vs. Portland Trail Blazers

Tipoff – 9:00 pm EST
Moda Center – Portland, OR
Broadcast – NBA TV

If you follow this column, you know I like to fade the Bulls as much as I can. However, this is a rare spot where I actually like the Bulls to score first. Despite being dead last in both of the major metrics, they aren’t all that far behind the Blazers and have all the momentum. The Blazers have been winning more tips, but still are only scoring first 3.2% more of the time than the Bulls. That means that even if they win the tip, the Bulls will likely get a crack at the first bucket anyways. And with the way the Bulls are snagging those first scores lately, I like their chances to make good on it.

While there are a lot of names that are getting early looks, one is getting first buckets at a nice clip lately. Despite the Bulls only scoring first 11 times this year, one player has two of those in the last 11 days alone. Nikola Vucevic has been picking up their averages with big wins as of late, so let’s ride that momentum to a cash on Sunday.

First Scorer Bet for January 19: Nikola Vucevic (+600)

If you’d like even more info to help make your first scorer bets for January 19, check out the NBA Gambling Podcast. They’re dropping episodes five days a week to make you the smartest guy/gal at the bar.