Welcome to Sleeper Picks. Sleeper’s newest offering promised plenty of entertainment and action, and they delivered. We will break down our top three picks for tonight’s NBA action. Sleeper is quickly becoming one of the most popular season-long fantasy platforms, and they are expanding into other areas based on demand. Each week in this space, we’ll talk about some strategy for the new platform while providing our favorite NBA more/less picks.
NBA Sleeper Picks Player Predictions (10/31)
Victor Wembanyama (C – SAS): 15.5 points
Wemby has been impressive to start the regular season, but his point totals have been confounding. Yes, he is a rookie, but attempting 10 or fewer shots in two of three games is not what anyone hoped to see from the first overall pick. He was held under 16 points in both of those games, and while foul trouble was to blame for his muted stat line in the opener, he played just 26 minutes in a 40 point beat down from the Los Angeles Clippers. Aggression and force are two switches Wemby is likely learning to work with, as there is no way Gregg Popovich is happy with his star rookie playing such a passive role. Expect the talented big man to take at least 15 shots if he stays out of foul trouble against the Phoenix Suns. Tap the More on Wemby where desired.
Pick: More
Jeremy Sochan (G – SAS): 1.5 turnovers
A turnover total? Light slate, minimal options. Sochan was solid in the first two starts of his career but struggled in the blowout loss to the Clippers. Averaging three turnovers per game this season with two or more in every contest, this is one of the standout totals of the day, especially with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal not yet on the board as of writing. Expect Sochan to see 28-32 minutes against the Phoenix Suns, which, when coupled with his ball handling duties, should easily lead to at least two turnovers for the talented rookie. Push more on the Polish-American point guard.
Pick: More
Donovan Mitchell (G – CLE): 0.5 double doubles
Spida is a fantastic scorer and an exciting player. However, a nightly double double threat he is not. Yes, he is perfectly capable of a 10 assist night and could grab 10 rebounds every once in a while, but the probability of either is low. How low? Donovan managed just five double doubles in 68 games played last season (7.36 percent). Of course, something with a 90 percent chance of going one way is going to have the multiplier to match, on both sides. As you can probably tell by now, the lean here is the Less. With only a 1.06 multiplier, you will need to punch in three plays, but with minimal risk here, you can focus on sweating the two on your ticket.
Pick: More
Writers note: The lines are constantly changing on Sleeper, so there is a high probability that one or all of the numbers may no longer be the same when you open your app. There are excellent values when they are first posted, with the only catch being that they are not all released at the same time. Vigilance could provide a solid return on investment this season, literally.
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Raju Byfield is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Raju, check out his profile and follow him @FantasyContext.