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 (11/21)
Cade Cunningham (G – DET): 19.5 points (alt line)
Cade continues his strong play for the Pistons, averaging 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. Cade has scored 20 or more points in 13 of his 16 games this season and is in an excellent position to do so again tonight against a Charlotte Hornets team he drained 20 on earlier this month. Charlotte has relinquished 22.92 points per game to the point guard position. Clap the More on Cade for Thursday night at Sleeper Picks.
Pick: More
Jakob Poeltl (C – TOR): 16.5 points
Jakob has been going off for the Toronto Raptors over a three game stretch, averaging 30 points, 15 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. His scoring boom has pushed his total well past the 13.5 it was listed at last game, but this is a ride with the hot hand play. The 9.5 alt line has the obvious appeal, but the multiplier is so low that it is not worth highlighting, even if it merits a short mention. Being set past 15 means the first alt line is 14.5, which does not increase the probability enough to suffer the multiplier decrease, especially given his eight point outing against Minnesota earlier this season. Thus, we will roll with the 16.5 tonight and get off the train until he drops back to the 12.5-13.5 level we are used to. Jab the More on Jakob for Thursday night’s action.
Pick: More
Lauri Markkanen (F – UTA): 1.5 steals + blocks
Lauri got the two StOcks necessary for this line to continue against the Lakers. He will hit the more at times this season, but it will likely occur in 30 percent or less of his games. Lauri has recorded two or fewer StOcks in eight of his 11 contests this season. There is, of course, some added risk here as Markkanen registered two swipes against the Spurs earlier this month, but this is a probability play, not a head-to-head matchup play. Light up the Less on Lauri 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.
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Raju Byfield is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Raju, check out his profile and follow him @FantasyContext.