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 (12/28)
Nikola Jokic (C – DEN): 0.5 double doubles
Finally! Nikola Jokic has been a walking double double and nightly triple double threat this season. So much so that I thought Sleeper Picks stopped offering the Jokic double double line. Perhaps they did, but with a double double in ‘just’ 27 of his 31 games played, it is not as automatic as the constant expiration of the Jokic double double line suggested. There is still an extremely low multiplier attached to it, but that is to be expected for a total that hits over 85 percent of the time. Jokic is averaging 12.3 rebounds and 9.2 assists per game on the season and should hit another double double in either assists or rebounds tonight. Jab the More on Jokic for Thursday night.
Pick: More
Ja Morant (G – MEM): 26.5 points
Ja has been on fire since returning from his suspension, dropping 30 or more in three of his four games, with his only sub 30 point outing coming on his first back-to-back of the season. Averaging 28.8 points per game on the season, Ja will be facing a Denver Nuggets team that has allowed 23.61 points per game this season. The most explosive scoring point guard aside from De’Aaron Fox, Ja should easily be able to drop the 27 points needed for the More to hit. Mash the More on Morant for Thursday night’s game.
Pick: More
Zion Williamson (F – NOP): 24.5 points
Zion has been incredible at points this season but has also been more inconsistent and passive than one would expect. He has scored over 30 points three times this season and drains shots at an incredible .575 clip. However, the .575 is the lowest of his career, as is his eFG% of .579 and his free throw attempts and makes per game. His 22.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game are both career lows. Zion has scored 23 or fewer points in six of his last eight games. He has scored 24 or fewer points in 15 of his 25 games on the season as a whole. Zion dropped 26 on Utah the last time out and should be able to score 30 or more at Will against a team like the Jazz, but nothing in his recent play suggests that he will be aggressive enough to make the More the play with the higher probability. Roll with form over head-to-head data and zap the Less on Zion for tonight’s action.
Pick: Less
Writers note: The lines are constantly changing on Sleeper (and sometimes expiring), 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.
