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 (2/23)
Damian Lillard (G – MIL): 2.5 threes
Fresh off the all-star game MVP, Damian Lillard should have a Blazers Dame worthy performance in store for Friday night. Lillard’s transition to becoming a member of the Bucks has not been as seamless as many expected, but Dame has still had some scoring explosions. Set at 24.5, there is little value in the point total, but the three pointers made total is sitting at 2.5. Lillard drained three in his last game but failed to eclipse two three pointers in any of his previous four games. However, fresh off draining 11 three pointers during the all-star game and winning his second consecutive three point competition, Dame should be locked in and engaged for a matchup against the top seed in the West. The Timberwolves have been one of the better teams in the NBA at limiting three pointers made to opposing point guards but still allow an exploitable 2.49 per game. Dap the More on Lillard for Friday night.
Pick: More
Vince Williams (G/F – MEM): 5.5 assists
This was a hard one to convince myself to include here. 5.5 assists is high for any player, but for one on very few radars prior to the season, it seems almost ludicrous. Williams has been dishing out assists at an elite clip in his recent games, recording seven or more assists in each of his last five contests. There is no way his insane production will last, but until he slows down, he offers value at 5.5. He has averaged 7.8 assists per game over his last five contests and is a solid bet to hit at least six tonight in what should be another night of heavy minutes. This is purely a trends and usage play, as anytime an ascending player has cleared a posted total in five straight, it is something that should be on at least one of your tickets for the night.
Pick: More
Rudy Gobert (C – UTA): 0.5 double doubles
Gobert has been impressive on the boards as of late, showing enough consistency to be a value here. Gobert has hauled in 11 or more rebounds in each of his last seven games and has recorded 10 or more in 20 of his last 22. At this point, Gobert seems like more of a risk to fall short of 10 points than 10 rebounds. Rap the More on Gobert for Friday night.
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.