NBA First Basket Prop Pick: Bet Jonas Valanciunas, Herb Jones in Pelicans vs. Clippers (March 24)

NBA First Basket will break down some of his favorite NBA plays of the day here, and will track all his bets in The Action Network app.

Pelicans vs.

Clippers

NBA First Basket Prop Pick: Jonas Valanciunas, Herb Jones

The New Orleans Pelicans head west to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers Saturday night. Jonas Valanciunas (52% opening tip win rate) will square off against Ivica Zubac (49% win rate) on the opening tip-off.  Valanciunas has won the opening tip-off in five of six matchups versus Zubac over the past two seasons.

The Pelicans have scored first in 58% of their games this season while the Clippers have scored first in just 45% of games. In the only matchup this season between the teams, Zion Williamson cashed the first basket while Zubac scored the first team basket for the Clippers.

The first possessions for the Pelicans have been dominated by Valanciunas and Brandon Ingram this season. Those two players combine to take the first shot in 66% of games started. Valanciunas has cashed the first basket in 26% of games started while Ingram has cashed the first basket in 31% of games started.

Over the past 10 games, Valanciunas has scored the first team basket for New Orleans in seven games, and cashed the first basket in five of those. I'll take Valanciunas to score first, and will also sprinkle a small amount on Herbert Jones since his odds are so high tonight.

Pick: Herb Jones +2000 — Down to +1600 (0.2 units)

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Pick: Jonas Valanciunas +500 — Down to +375 (0.8 units)

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Pelicans vs. Clippers First Basket Prop Data

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