NBA Fantasy: Week 6 Start/Sit Strategy Guide

It’s Thanksgiving week in the NBA, so while the league is taking Thursday off, there are still plenty of games to be enjoyed over the next seven days. Thankfully, many teams have four-game schedules, offering plenty of action for basketball fans. Unlike recent weeks, only two teams have a minimum number of games on the schedule.

Each week, we’ll aim to highlight a pair of Start candidates for your fantasy rosters who may shape up as some of the tougher calls of the week to make, focusing on players with a start or roster rate of 50% or less in Yahoo leagues. We’ll also typically hone in on players with four-game weeks to maximize opportunities for production.

Likewise, we’ll spotlight one Sit candidate at each position who would normally not be a consideration for a spot on your bench, often focusing on players with fewer game opportunities during the coming week.

TEAMS WITH FOUR GAMES

: Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz

TEAMS WITH THREE GAMES:

Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs, Washington Wizards

TEAMS WITH TWO GAMES

: Milwaukee Bucks, Philadelphia 76ers

Without further ado, let’s examine some of the tougher start/sit decisions for Week 6:

Guards     

Start: Shaedon Sharpe, Trail Blazers

41% start rate

Sharpe took a handful of games to get going after a delayed start to the season, but he’s subsequently hit his stride and is offering stellar across-the-board production. The 2022 first-round pick has settled into the starting shooting guard role and helped make up for multiple first-unit absences at various times, averaging 23.3 points (on 41.9% 3-point shooting), 3.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.7 steals across 33.0 minutes per contest over his last six games. The Blazers enter a four-game week with Deandre Ayton almost certain to miss at least one game with a finger injury and Jerami Grant battling an illness, so another stretch of very fantasy-friendly production could well be in store for Sharpe.

Start

:

Austin Reaves, Lakers

37% start rate 

Reaves continues to operate as the starting point guard as the Lakers embark on a four-game week, and despite some recent shooting inefficiency from in front of the arc, he comes in averaging 17.4 points (on 39.4% 3-point shooting), 5.8 assists, and 2.4 rebounds over 33.8 minutes across his last eight games. Reaves is managing a serviceable 21.5% usage rate despite sharing the floor with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and there’s no reason to think his role as a dependable complement to the two megastars won’t persist over the next week.

ALSO CONSIDER

:

Scotty Pippen Jr, Grizzlies

(41% start rate)

;

Keyonte George, Jazz

(21% start rate)

Sit: Jrue Holiday, Celtics

82% start rate

Holiday continues to be started at an elevated clip, but his production hasn’t been anything that isn’t replaceable when he’s playing anything less than a full slate of games in a given week. The Celtics will only take the floor on three occasions in Week 6, and Holiday comes in averaging 12.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.3 steals over his last eight games. In addition to the fact he has just a 16.6% usage rate while sharing the floor with multiple stars, Holiday also has capped his scoring production over the aforementioned stretch by shooting only 26.2% from behind the arc. While he’s almost certain to put together another week of decent numbers, there are certainly four-game options that will eclipse what Holiday can offer.

Forwards          

Start

:

P.J. Washington, Mavericks

50% start rate 

Luka Dončić isn’t slated to have his wrist sprain evaluated until Thursday at the earliest, leaving open the possibility he will miss the entirety of Dallas’ four-game schedule. Washington has already stepped up significantly in the first two games of his star teammate’s current absence, averaging 21.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.5 steals per contest while shooting 51.7%. Washington now boasts a 21.6% usage rate with Luka off the floor this season, and it’s worth noting he also contributed a 27-point, 17-rebound double-double four games ago against the Thunder when Doncic also sat out due to his lingering knee issue.

Start: Zaccharie Risacher, Hawks

17% start rate

Risacher is still going through some rookie growing pains, but the first-overall pick has gotten his career off to a promising start with averages of 11.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists across 25.4 minutes per game. Risacher’s shooting is still very much a work in progress – he’s drained only 38.9% of his attempts thus far – but he just recently put together a four-game stretch where he showed improvement in that regard (43.6% shooting) and recorded 13.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists per contest. While there’s some volatility to his production, the fact the Hawks average the third-most possessions per game (107.3) entering the week and often find themselves in high-scoring battles gives Risacher some upside when paired with his talent.

ALSO CONSIDER

:

Rui Hachimura, Lakers

(46% roster rate)

; 

Naji Marshall, Mavericks

(16% roster rate);

Jaylen Wells, Grizzlies

(11% roster rate)

Sit: Paul George, 76ers

55% start rate

There’s always some inherent risk in benching a top-shelf star even when they’re playing an abbreviated schedule of games – Jimmy Butler certainly proved that in Week 5 – but George has even more than that working against him this week. Yes, the fact the 76ers will only take the floor twice in Week 6 already puts him at a disadvantage, but George is also dealing with a left knee injury that has already cost him two games. Philadelphia doesn’t play until Wednesday, but there’s still a chance the Sixers are cautious with him given his age and injury history. Then, even if George does return, he doesn’t figure for an outsized role given Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid are now both healthy and playing well.

CENTERS    

Start

:

John Collins, Jazz

43% start rate 

Collins has already been frequently featured as a Start option this season, as his impressive production has not led to the start rates one might expect. The big man is putting together his best season since his heyday in Atlanta, averaging 17.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.4 steals, with the latter two categories qualifying as career highs. Collins is also shooting 53.7%, including 37.0% from distance, and the 12.8 shot attempts per game he’s putting up is his highest figure in that category since the 2019-20 campaign. With an iron-clad grip on the starting power forward job and a double-double within his range of outcomes any time he’s on the floor, Collins is always a consideration on a four-game week.

Start: Yves Missi, Pelicans

13% roster rate 

Missi enters the Pelicans’ four-game week dealing with a shoulder issue, but he’s listed as probable to return from a one-game absence Monday against the Pacers. If the rookie has a full four games to work with as expected, he’s certainly capable of rewarding you with worthwhile production in the areas of points, rebounds, and blocks. Missi averaged 9.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per contest in the six games prior to his aforementioned absence, and he’s already generated five multi-block tallies in his first 16 NBA games.

ALSO CONSIDER: Moritz Wagner, Magic

(17% roster rate)

;

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Pelicans

(9% roster rate)

Sit: Brook Lopez, Bucks

59% start rate

Lopez is another two-game victim this week, which automatically puts him in sight for a potential benching. The veteran big man can certainly surprise from time to time with out-of-nowhere breakout offensive performances, but those are the exception rather than the rule these days. Lopez has eclipsed 20 points only three times across his first 17 games, and he’s averaging a below-average 5.4 rebounds per contest as well. You will almost certainly miss out on some strong blocks production if you sit him, but what you can get from a similarly talented player who has double the amount of games this coming week likely makes up for that.