NBA Finals First Basket Prop: Bet Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon in Game 5 (June 12)

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Heat vs.

Nuggets

NBA First Basket Prop Pick: Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon

The Denver Nuggets host the Miami Heat on Monday night for Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The Nuggets have a chance to close out the series and become NBA champions for the first time in franchise history.

Nikola Jokic (47% opening tip win rate) will go up against Bam Adebayo (56% win rate) for the opening tip-off. Adebayo has won four of six opening tips versus Jokic this season.

Miami has scored first in four of the six games against Denver this season. Max Strus and Adebayo have both scored two first baskets for the Heat while Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope have each cashed first-basket tickets for the Nuggets.

During the NBA Finals, these teams have combined to average 2.5 shot attempts before the first basket has been made.

Adebayo is likely to win the opening tip-off, but the general inefficiency on early possessions makes it difficult to determine which team will score first.

With a close out opportunity, I like Denver to score first. I'll take Jokic and pair him with Aaron Gordon, who is coming off a 27-point performance in Game 4.

The Picks:

Nikola Jokic First Basket (+420 | Play to +360); Risk 0.7 Units

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Aaron Gordon First Basket (+950 | Play to +800); Risk 0.3 Units

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Heat vs. Nuggets First Basket Prop Data

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