Thursday’s NBA Sleeper Picks Player Predictions: Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr., Jordan Poole (3/21)

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 (3/21)

Nikola Jokic (C – DEN): 4.5 1st quarter rebounds

The Joker has been crashing the boards to start games recently, recording five or more first quarter rebounds in four of his last five games for a 5.6 average. 4.5 is a rough number for a player who has hauled in less than 10 rebounds in two of his last six games (33 percent), but Jokic exploded for seven boards in the first quarter in his lone meeting against the New York Knicks this year. Jab the More on Jokic for Thursday night.

Pick: More

Michael Porter Jr. (F – DEN): 4.5 1st quarter points

MPJ has been starting hot for the Nuggets recently, recording at least five first quarter points in each of his last five games for an average of 7.4. MPJ has recorded five or more first quarter points in each of his past 10 games and in 14 of his last 15 overall. It has been a truly impressive run for a player with some consistency issues. Ride with MPJ until he cools down.

Pick: More

Jordan Poole (G – WAS): 17.5 points

Poole has been feast or famine this season and continues to struggle with shot selection. March has actually been his best month from the field, but he is still struggling with consistency and a new role that has him playing less than 30 minutes most nights. Poole has scored 25 or more points in two of his last four games but has recorded 15 or fewer points in five of his past seven. Poole did fill it up against Sacramento earlier this season (28 points), but that was on a .555 shooting night from the field. Poole should see volume regardless of minutes, but the probability lies with another low-efficiency night keeping him under 18 points. Push the Less on Poole for Thursday night basketball.

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.