Sleeper NBA Lock In: Lock or Pass Week 4

Welcome to Sleeper NBA Lock-In mode. To learn more about Lock-In mode, read our article here. This season, we will be discussing Lock or Pass decisions once per week in this column. Don’t miss out on the fun! Draft your team today!

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Sleeper NBA Lock In: Lock or Pass Week 4

What is Lock-In mode?

Lock-In Mode is a new way to play fantasy basketball that allows fantasy managers to Lock-In a player’s fantasy points following a game or choose to take the risk that they will score more fantasy points in one of the remaining games that week. You can Lock-In just one game per week and cannot Lock-In bench players.

This introduces a new layer of strategy to fantasy basketball while also making fantasy basketball more of a weekly endeavor with daily upkeep as opposed to daily management game that requires one to be on top of injuries and rest days to maximize output. This is great for those who are not available every evening or night to make lineup changes as needed and for those who just do not appreciate the daily grind that season-long fantasy basketball often requires.

De’Aaron Fox (G – SAC): 65.00 fantasy points

Fox was excellent on Wednesday night, recording 28 points, five rebounds, five assists, and four steals while going 10/22 from the field and 3/9 from deep. While the assists could be better, The points and rebounds are great. When you factor in the elite four steals, this is a total worth risking passing on his remaining games against the Spurs and Mavericks later this week. Fox can obviously produce much bigger fantasy nights, but I will play it conservatively and lock this one in while evaluating his other games this week before settling on a pass number for next week.

Choice: Lock

Scottie Barnes (G/F – TOR): 65.00 fantasy points

Scottie Barnes broke out of his mini-slump on Wednesday, posting 29 points, nine rebounds, seven assists, and one steal on 11/19 shooting from the field while draining all three of his attempts from deep. He has two games left this week, and the lack of steals and blocks is concerning. However, the 65.00 fantasy points are hard to pass on after three straight games with under 20 points scored. There is a strong possibility that I regret the lock, especially with this being just his fourth-highest fantasy point total of the season, but I will play it safe as I attempt to lock in another win to climb the standings.

Choice: Lock

Lonnie Walker (G – BKN): 41.50 fantasy points

Lonnie Walker had a strong night on Thursday, recording 23 points, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal. He shot .500 on 18 shots while draining two of his seven attempts from deep. The 41.50 fantasy points represent just his fourth-highest total of the season, but he has been inconsistent enough to jump on this lock. He is not getting reliable enough minutes to guarantee a better outing this week, especially with just one game left.

Choice: Lock

Jakob Poeltl (C – TOR): 59.00 fantasy points

Since I did so much locking on Monday and Tuesday, I had fewer pressing decisions to make than I did last week. With that in mind, we will take a look at my worst lock decision thus far this week. Jakob had a meager 31 fantasy points on Monday, but I chose to lock it in based on his performances this season. He had exceeded 31 points just three times in nine games, so it felt like a prudent lock as I did not want to be saddled with a bunch of inferior production nights like I did last week due to my propensity not to be overly risk averse. Jakob rewarded my disloyalty by having the best fantasy line of the season with 13 points, 11 rebounds, one assist, four steals, and two blocks.

Choice: Regret

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