NBA Pick'Em Today: Best Plays on Underdog and Sleeper for Thursday

NBA Pick'Em Today: Best Plays on Underdog and Sleeper for Thursday

This article is part of our NBA Picks series.

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NBA Pick'Em Today

RJ Barrett LESS THAN 5.5 assists vs. Timberwolves

Sleeper, 3:49 PM CT

Alex Barutha: The Timberwolves are allowing the third-fewest assists per 48 minutes across the past 10 games, and the Raptors may be getting primary playmaker Scottie Barnes back tonight. Barrett is having a career year as a distributor (6.5 APG), but it's been extremely hit or miss for him. He has four games with three or fewer dimes and three games with double-digit assists.

Cade Cunningham MORE THAN 39.5 PRA at Charlotte

Underdog, 11:38 AM CT

Cunningham has been on a strong run to start the year and is coming off of a 26-10-6 game in a win over Chicago on Monday. Charlotte is not a good defensive team – we know that – and Cunningham should be able to build on his last-eight-game averages of 23.3pts, 8.1reb and 10.3ast. If you're really feeling saucy, look into a Cunningham triple-double, which carries a 5.49x boost on Underdog. Cunningham did go for a triple-double in the first meeting with Charlotte back on Nov. 6.

Austin Reaves LESS THAN 19.5 PTS+REB vs. Magic

Underdog, 11:38 AM CT

The Lakers have won six in a row while taking advantage of a soft schedule, but they get a tough matchup against a good defensive team in the Magic, who continue to play low-total games on a nightly basis. Over his last 10, Reaves is averaging 19.8 PTS/REB, but with Orlando likely to muck this game up, I see it as a lower-volume spot for Reaves.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Alex Barutha plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel Username: unclestosh99, DraftKings Username: Roto_Alex. Nick Whalen plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: nickwhalen2, DraftKings: wha1en.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alex Barutha
Alex is RotoWire's Chief NBA Editor. He writes articles about daily fantasy, year-long fantasy and sports betting. You can hear him on the RotoWire NBA Podcast, Sirius XM, VSiN and other platforms. He firmly believes Robert Covington is the most underrated fantasy player of the past decade.
Nick Whalen
Now in his 10th year with the company, Nick is RotoWire's Senior Media Analyst, a position he took on after several years as the Head of Basketball Content. A multi-time FSGA and FSWA award winner, Nick co-hosts RotoWire's flagship show on Sirius XM Fantasy alongside Jeff Erickson, as well as The RotoWire NBA Show on Sirius XM NBA with Alex Barutha. He also co-hosts RotoWire's Football and Basketball podcasts. You can catch Nick's NBA and NFL analysis on VSiN and DraftKings, as well as RotoWire's various social and video channels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @wha1en.
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