Welcome to Sleeper NBA Lock-In mode. To learn more about Lock-In mode, read our article here. This season, we will be discussing Lock or Pass decisions once per week in this column. Don’t miss out on the fun! Draft your team today!
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Sleeper NBA Lock In: Lock or Pass Week 14
What is Lock-In mode?
Lock-In Mode is a new way to play fantasy basketball that allows fantasy managers to Lock-In a player’s fantasy points following a game or choose to take the risk that they will score more fantasy points in one of the remaining games that week. You can Lock-In just one game per week and cannot Lock-In bench players.
This introduces a new layer of strategy to fantasy basketball while also making fantasy basketball more of a weekly endeavor with daily upkeep as opposed to daily management game that requires one to be on top of injuries and rest days to maximize output. This is great for those who are not available every evening or night to make lineup changes as needed and for those who just do not appreciate the daily grind that season-long fantasy basketball often requires.
Duop Reath (C – POR): 24.50 fantasy points
Reath had a solid enough fantasy night on Wednesday, putting up 24.50 fantasy points off an unspectacular 10 points, four rebounds, one assist, and one steal. The line is nothing to write home about but is lock worthy for a fantasy squad that is dealing with enough injuries to still be starting Reath now that Deandre Ayton is healthy. This is Duop’s highest fantasy output in his last five games, and if he is going to continue to play less than 15 minutes a night, this is a lock total. In redraft, I would either stash Reath on my bench or cut him loose, but given that this is a dynasty league, I will be holding onto the intriguing big man.
Choice: Lock
Victor Wembanyama (C – SAS): 61.50 fantasy points
The fantasy total is solid for a player who has been put on a 30 minute a night minutes restriction, but it is hard not to hold out for more from such a talented player. Wemby has two games left this week, so I will hopefully have two cracks at a better fantasy total. With that said, the prospect of Wembanyama sitting out of one of the games due to them being back-to-back is a legitimate concern. If he plays Friday, the total, regardless of what it is, will get strong consideration, as if he is rested on Saturday, I will get hit with a zero from Wemby for the week.
Choice: Pass
Early Locks
There were a few players that got locked earlier in the week, including Jalen Green (85.50), Quentin Grimes (33.00), Bilal Coulibaly (30.50), Onyeka Okongwu (31.00), Lonnie Walker (47.00), and Dennis Schroder (43.50). Coulibaly proved to be a mistake, but I am comfortable with the rest of the locks.
Non-decision decisions
There were a few outings that I didn’t even look at twice, including Scottie Barnes (29.00), De’Aaron Fox (33.50), and Julian Champagnie (8.00). Champagnie is going to be inconsistent, but the poor performances relative to expectations from Barnes and Fox are cause for concern.
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Raju Byfield is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Raju, check out his profile and follow him @FantasyContext.
