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 (12/20)
Domantas Sabonis (C – SAC): 0.5 double doubles
Sabonis has been cracking this season, recording 21 double doubles in 25 games played. The nightly expectation is that Sabonis will walk away with a point and rebound double double while threatening the triple double due to his improved assist numbers. He has averaged 12.3 rebounds per game this season and will be facing off against a Boston Celtics team that will be without its top big man in Kristaps Prozingis. Averaging 12.3 rebounds per game, Sabonis should have little trouble grabbing at least 10 boards against a team that, while one of the better ones in limiting rebounds to the center position, still give up 12.55 per contest. Dap the More on Domantas for Wednesday night.
Pick: More
Scottie Barnes (G/F – TOR): 20.5 points
Barnes has scored 20 or more points in seven of his last eight games and 22 or more in six of those eight. Tonight, he will face off against a Denver Nuggets team allowing 20.93 points per game to the small forward position. Barnes should be able to hit 21 as long as he remains aggressive in the fourth quarter where he scores 34.5 percent of his points. Bump the More on Barnes for Wednesday night’s slate.
Pick: More
Kawhi Leonard (G/F – LAC): 28.5 points
Kawhi has erased any doubt regarding who the alpha is in Los Angeles. Averaging 29.3 points per game over the Clippers eight game winning streak, the combination of Kawhi stepping up and Russell Westbrook stepping back to the second unit has this Clippers team humming along. Kawhi has scored 27 or more points in each of his last six games and has scored 31 or more in four of those six. Tonight, he faces off against a Dallas Mavericks team that he has had major struggles against this season, scoring 26 and 8 points in the two games he’s played against them thus far. However, Kawhi has found his way since back in late November and should be eager to erase any memories of scoring less than double digits his last time against them by scoring 30 or more tonight. This is more of a feel and form play than one laden with value, so only ride with it if you feel comfortable.
Pick: More
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.