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 9
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.
Jalen Green (G/F – HOU): 42.50 fantasy points
Jalen Green had a forgettable outing on Wednesday night, managing just 16 points to go with four rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block on 7/19 shooting from the field. It was his second straight subpar fantasy performance, and with Jabari Smith stepping up lately, the Suns may continue to go with the hot-hand approach. This is not ideal for Green, their most explosive scorer, but the Rockets are stocked with impressive depth, so inconsistency may become the new norm. 42.5 fantasy points is nothing to get excited about and is an easy pass, especially with two more games left this week for the Rockets.
Choice: Pass
De’Aaron Fox (G – SAC): 58.00 fantasy points
Fox is so good that 29 points is a disappointment in itself. His peripherals on Wednesday night did him little favors outside of the three steals, as he managed just three boards and three assists while committing three turnovers. 58 points is solid if I got stuck with it after passing on his earlier lines in the week, but it will never be a lock number for someone as electric as De’Aaron Fox. This is a simple pass decision.
Choice: Pass
Onyeka Okongwu (C/F – ATL): 47.00 fantasy points
Onyeka was excellent against the Rockets, dropping 19 points, 11 rebounds, and two assists on 8/11 shooting from the field. This was his best fantasy output of the season, making this a no-brainer lock decision. The Atlanta Hawks are rumored to be dangling Clint Capela in trade talks, so if something goes down before the deadline, this type of fantasy line could become the norm.
Choice: Lock
Non-decision Decisions
There were more than a few easy pass decisions that are barely worth mentioning because they were automatic passes more than something that was actually debated. Kyle Lowry put up 8.50 fantasy points, Gordon Hayward put up 15.50 fantasy points, Jakob Poeltl put up 22.00 fantasy points, Quinton Grimes put up 17.50 fantasy points, Victor Wembanyama put up 34.00 fantasy points, and Dennis Schroder put up just 25.00 fantasy points.
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Raju Byfield is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Raju, check out his profile and follow him @FantasyContext.
