Fantasy Basketball Week 6 Start/Sit Guide: Top Sleepers, Injury Picks & Lineup Moves

We're set for an interesting Week 6 schedule-wise, as we have one idle day on Thanksgiving and many more teams with three-game schedules than those with a full four-game card. We also have another pair of squads with just two opportunities to take the floor, but noteworthy injuries around the league continue to afford many readily available fantasy assets expanded minutes and usage.

Utilizing the NBA injury report, we find key NBA sleepers—like Ryan Rollins and Vince Williams Jr.—who benefit from the absences of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ja Morant. These shifts dramatically affect NBA depth charts and require quick adjustments to your fantasy basketball strategy. Our guide analyzes NBA player stats and opportunity to help you set the best roster and climb the NBA fantasy rankings, advising you on who to Start and who to Sit.

For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, lineups, roster changes and more, head to RotoWire's NBA News or follow @RotoWireNBA on X.

Week 6 Schedule Breakdown & Game Counts

TEAMS WITH FOUR GAMES: Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors

TEAMS WITH THREE GAMES: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trail Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz

TEAMS WITH TWO GAMES: Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards

Visit RotoWire's NBA Daily Starting Lineups to find out starters for every game on the schedule!

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

Guards     

Start: Ryan Rollins, Bucks

45% start rate

Rollins continues to thrive in his starting point guard role, checking into Week 6 having averaged 22.5 points (49.5% shooting), 6.5 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals while shooting 49.5%, including 43.9% from distance, over his last six games. That's just a snapshot of the fourth-year pro's season overall, as he's boasting career highs across the board and has scored in double digits in all but one contest thus far. With another four games on his plate this coming week and the ability to check off nearly every box on the stat sheet, Rollins remains firmly in consideration, especially with Giannis Antetokounmpo potentially sitting out another week due to his groin injury.

Check out where all the players on your fantasy basketball team fit into RotoWire's Fantasy Basketball Cheat Sheet!

Start: Vince Williams Jr., Grizzlies

18% start rate

Injury-driven opportunity is a big theme in our column this week, and Williams is another prime example of such. The fourth-year pro is holding down the point guard spot for the Grizzlies at the moment due to Ja Morant's calf injury, and Williams has delivered 9.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 10.0 assists and 1.3 steals across 26 minutes per game in his first three starts in Morant's stead. He's shot an abysmal 34.5% in the process, but Williams does have double-digit scoring efforts in six of his 12 games this season and can offer a nice boost to the rest of your categories as well.

ALSO CONSIDER:  Russell Westbrook, Kings (43% start rate); Jeremiah Fears, Pelicans (21% start rate)         

Sit: Kevin Durant, Rockets

74% start rate

Durant has been ruled out for both Monday and Wednesday's games against the Suns and Warriors due to a personal matter, leaving him with just one opportunity to take the floor during Week 6. The future Hall of Famer therefore becomes an unappealing option despite his significant upside, and it's worth noting he also had a quiet pair of games by his standards in his most recent time on the floor (16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals on 33.3% shooting).

Forwards        

Start: Bobby Portis, Bucks    

23% start rate 

Portis is an even more direct beneficiary of Antetokounmpo's ongoing absence, as the veteran is filling in for his star teammate as the starting power forward. Portis has provided 18.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists during his first two turns with the first unit, shooting a blistering 66.7%, including 83.3% from behind the arc, in the process. Portis' ability to space the floor offers a welcome dimension at that roster spot in your lineup as well, and as alluded to earlier, he could well be in line for an additional four-game starting run given Giannis' likely continued absence.

Find out who to target the rest of the way with RotoWire's NBA Projections!

Start: Dillon Brooks, Suns

40% start rate

Brooks has taken on a much larger offensive role in the early portion of his Suns career, as the veteran wing is averaging a career-best 21.4 points on a career-high 17.0 shot attempts per contest. He's complementing the scoring with 3.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game as well  – the latter figure easily a career high – and he's even converting his career-high 3.7 free-throw attempts per game at a career-best 85.4% clip. Additionally, Grayson Allen's current absence due to a quadriceps injury only benefits Brooks, who's a clear No. 2 offensive option behind Devin Booker on the Suns for the moment.

ALSO CONSIDER: Jaden McDaniels, Timberwolves (35% start rate); Keegan Murray, Kings (24% start rate)

Sit: Paolo Banchero, Magic

44% start rate

Banchero continues to deal with a groin strain that's already cost him six games, and he remains without a firm timetable for return. Adding to his lack of appeal this week is the fact the Magic has just two games on the schedule, and there seems to be little indication the star big man could play in either. Given the circumstances, the safest way to proceed is to simply keep Banchero on the bench for at least another week, as whatever he'd provide you if he were able to take the floor for even one game naturally wouldn't offset what you'd get from a healthy player with more opportunities.

Centers   

Start: Naz Reid, Timberwolves     

38% start rate 

Reid is a perennial candidate for inclusion in this space, as he typically sports a lowish start rate yet has ample ability to deliver starter-quality production on any given night with a rock-solid bench role. The veteran big is enjoying another solid season overall, averaging 13.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals across 24.5 minutes per game. Reid comes into Week 6 in even more productive fashion, as he's supplied 18.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals across his last five games while shooting a crisp 52.9%. Reid's two best scoring performances of the season – 22 and 28 points – have come in the last three games, so he could be heating up at just the right time for a four-game week.

Start: Mark Williams, Suns

49% start rate

Williams has proven a good fit and complementary option in the Suns' attack thus far, settling into a nice groove that's seen him generate 12.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.3 steals across 26 minutes per contest in the last nine games. Williams can't help you in your 3-point categories, but otherwise, he's a strong source of scoring, rebounds and steals. Additionally, he's arguably due for a bit of an ascension to the mean when it comes to blocks, as he came into the season averaging 1.1 rejections per contest and has been a bit below that standard (0.9 per game) thus far. 

ALSO CONSIDER: Derik Queen, Pelicans (38% start rate)

Sit: Joel Embiid, 76ers

48% start rate

Embiid is one of many stars that are currently in fantasy limbo due to injury, with his perpetually troublesome knees the culprit. Embiid has already missed seven straight games coming into Week 6, and there's no indication he's trending toward a return for Philadelphia's first game of its three-game schedule Tuesday against the Magic. The big man had posted an encouraging 22.8 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.0 steals over his last five games before the current absence, but he presents as too much of a risk this week with no return timetable established.