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 (5/13)
Donovan Mitchell (G – CLE): 24.5 points (alt line)
Mitchell has scored 28 or more in six straight but has topped 30 in just four of those six. Tonight’s 29.5 is tempting, given his recent scoring outbursts, but an off night from the field could keep Mitchell way under this total, making the 24.5 much more appealing despite the lower multiplier. Donovan will share the load but knows he has to continue to push for 30 a night if the Cavs are to have a chance at tying up this series. Dap the More on Donovan for Game 4.
Pick: More
P.J. Washington (F/C – DAL): 9.5 points (alt line)
Trade deadline acquisition P.J. Washington is proving to be an X-factor in this series, exploding for 29 and 27 points in the Mavericks’ Game 2 and Game 3 victories. He has seemingly embraced that Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving cannot do it themselves and has stepped up as a reliable third option, thanks to finding his stroke from deep. Washington has drained at least five three pointers in each of his last two games. P.J. has been scoring enough that his total has risen past the 15 point barrier (15.5), which puts our multiplier here much lower than anticipated. Washington has averaged 28 points over his last two but has scored 11 or less in five of his other seven playoff games. He has scored 14 or fewer points in six of his nine postseason contests overall. As such, we will be sticking with the 9.5 that has clicked in each of his last four and in eight of nine overall. Press the More on P.J. for Game 4.
Pick: More
Jalen Williams (G/F – OKC): 14.5 points (alt line)
Jalen has been rock solid for the Thunder this postseason, scoring 18 or more points in six of his seven playoff games and 16 or more in each. The total is set at 19.5 tonight, a number he has hit in just four of seven and in just one of the games in this series, when he barely surpassed it, landing on 20 exactly. With that in mind, we will go back to the alt line well and push this down to 14.5. Jab the More on Jalen for Monday 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.