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 (5/16)
Jalen Brunson (G – NYK): 19.5 points (alt line)
Arguably the most impressive playoff performer through two rounds, Jalen Brunson has the New York Knicks within one win of the Eastern Conference Finals. Jalen is averaging 29.4 points and 7.8 assists per game in the postseason, albeit on .433 shooting. He has been the go-to option down the stretch, averaging 5.4 clutch points per game and 9.9 fourth quarter points per game. Jalen has scored 20 or more points in four of the five games of this series and in nine of his 11 postseason contests overall. Jab the More on Jalen for Friday night basketball.
Pick: More
Jaylen Brown (G/F – BOS): 19.5 points (alt line)
The initial thought here was to go with the full 25.5 or even the 24.5 alt line. However, Jaylen’s Game 5 numbers are indicative of a player who, while now being leaned on as the unquestioned star with Jayson Tatum out, is still on a team loaded enough with talent that Brown took his second fewest shots of the series with his running mate sidelined. The probability goes up on the 19.5 for obvious reasons, but seeing him hoist up 25-30 shots may not be in the cards. Jaylen has scored 20 or more points in four of the five games of this series, landing on exactly 20 twice and on 19 in another. Jump on the More on Jaylen for Friday night’s NBA action.
Pick: More
Payton Pritchard (G – BOS): 9.5 points (alt line)
Jalen, Jaylen, and Payton? Without a third Jalen to close the loop, we went with a Payton. We considered the full line here, but the alt line offers too much value. Payton jacked up a postseason high 17 shots in Game 5, indicating that he will be soaking up a good part of the vacated volume left by Tatum’s injury. 14 of those 17 shots were three point attempts. Pritchard has scored 12 or more points in four of the five games of this series and, of course, now has the ultimate green light to fire at will without having to worry about siphoning shots from two All-NBA types. Press the More on Payton for Friday night at Sleeper Picks.
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.
