Fantasy Basketball Week 3 Start/Sit: Building Bridges or Burning Bridges in your starting lineup?

Collin Gillespie and Jeremiah Fears offer strong upside across four-game schedules, while slumping options like Mikal Bridges belong on the bench

Nov 2, 2026 at 3:37 pm ET • 5 min read

Two weeks down, a lot of weeks remaining. Panic moves and overreactions are par for the course at this time of the year, meaning your sit/start decisions can be tricky. Week three will see 18 teams play four times, with the remaining 12 teams suiting up three times.

Sitting players who only go three times has its advantages, but fantasy managers still have to make smart decisions when figuring out whom to play, regardless of game count. Being aware of back-to-back sets is also a key factor, especially with so many teams now sitting players due to injury management.

Five Games: N/A

Four Games: ATL, BKN, BOS, CLE, DAL, LAL, MIA, MIL, MIN, NOP, OKC, PHI, PHO, POR, SAC, SAS, UTA, WAS

Three Games: CHA, CHI, DEN, DET, GSW, HOU, IND, LAC, MEM, NYK, ORL, TOR

Two Games: N/A

Here are four potential starts and four potential sits entering the second week of the NBA season. Just keep in mind that this is based on games played for the week. If you play in a rotisserie league, the number of games played each week may not matter in your format.

Guards

Consider starting: Collin Gillespie, PHO

Opponents: @GSW, POR, ORL, HOU

Gillespie is coming off easily his best game of the season, finishing with 16 points, 10 assists, four steals, three rebounds, one block and four three-pointers in 33.5 minutes during a loss to the Nuggets. While this was certainly a standout performance, the fact that Dillon Brooks was ejected definitely played a role, as did Jalen Green turning in another stinker. With that said, Gillespie playing more minutes on this team makes a lot of sense, especially with Green struggling to impact the game. His minutes are far from guaranteed, but given Phoenix has the best schedule of all the teams this week, starting Gillespie feels worth the risk.

Consider starting: Jeremiah Fears, NOP

Opponents: @MEM, UTA, MIN, @LAC

After a rough start to the season, Fears has turned things around in his past two games, averaging 21.0 points, 10.0 assists, 6.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals, 2.0 blocks and 2.0 three-pointers. Although these performances came while Dejounte Murray was sidelined due to personal reasons, they should do a lot in terms of building his confidence. He has started in all six games this season, so his role feels relatively secure. With four games coming up, rolling the dice on him to see if he can maintain his momentum, even with Murray likely returning, is a worthwhile gamble.

Consider sitting: Jaylen Wells, MEM

Opponents: NOP, IND, OKC

Much like Fears, Wells has been a regular starter for the Grizzlies. However, although his scoring has been serviceable, he offers very little else, which limits his overall appeal. Through six games, he has averaged 12.2 points, 1.2 steals and 1.8 three-pointers in 27.2 minutes per game. While the steals could be considered a positive, four of his seven came in the season-opener against Utah. With only three games coming up, it feels as though most managers should have a more versatile option on their roster this week.

Forwards

Consider starting: Miles Bridges, PHO

Opponents: @GSW, POR, ORL, HOU

Quietly, Bridges has started his career in Phoenix on a positive note, providing the team with serviceable production on both ends of the floor. In four games, he has averaged 16.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.5 three-pointers and 1.8 combined steals and blocks, good enough for borderline top 50 value in standard category formats. Phoenix has lost three of its four games and is looking to find some answers. While Bridges is certainly not going to move the needle too much, he is doing more than enough to be inserted into starting lineups, given the favorable schedule this week.

Consider sitting: Collin Murray-Boyles, TOR

Opponents: @LAC, @DEN, @MIL

Despite a decent amount of preseason hype, Murray-Boyles has been one of the most disappointing players so far this season, at least in relation to expectations. Through six appearances, he has been the 180th-ranked player in nine-category leagues, averaging 7.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 19.0 minutes per game. While the production has been very underwhelming, it's the lack of consistent playing time that raises more questions. During Sunday's loss to the Lakers and despite Jakob Poeltl being ruled out due to a shoulder concern, Murray-Boyles still only managed 20 minutes of playing time. The hope is that he will turn things around, but with only three games in the next seven days, now is a good time to move him to your bench.

Consider sitting: Mikal Bridges, NYK

Opponents: BKN, CHI, @CLE

Speaking of disappointing starts to the season, let me introduce you to Mikal Bridges. In his six games thus far, he has averaged 6.2 points and 1.2 three-pointers in 27.4 minutes per contest, leaving him well outside the top 200 during that span. While his starting role doesn't seem to be in jeopardy, his poor end to the 2025-26 season has certainly carried over into the current campaign. Managers should be fine moving him to the bench this week, while dropping him altogether is certainly something to consider.

Centers

Consider starting: Aday Mara, OKC

Opponents: @CLE, CLE, @MEM, WAS

There are still more questions than answers about Mara's role moving forward. Chet Holmgren is going to miss at least two months due to a knee injury, which firmly puts Mara on the standard league radar. A decent amount of hype during the preseason has probably filtered through to the season proper, meaning he is rostered in most leagues by now. If you have taken a chance on him, Saturday's loss to the Rockets was full of positives. He finished with seven points, nine rebounds, three assists and four blocks in 28 minutes. If that amount of playing time was a given, he would be a clear must-start player. However, he has now played at least 20 minutes in three straight games, averaging 8.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks, shooting 52.9 percent from the field and 85.7 percent from the line. If you are open to a little risk, giving him a shot in your starting lineup feels pretty exciting.

Consider sitting: Jalen Smith, CHI

Opponents: @PHI, @NYK, PHI

It's been a strong start to the season for Smith, averaging 12.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.5 three-pointers and 1.0 blocks in 24.1 minutes per game through six appearances. On the surface, it would make sense to at least consider him a starter-level player this week. However, it appears as though Nic Claxton could return from a hamstring injury sooner rather than later, which would almost certainly see Smith move back to the bench. Tiago Splitter has not been afraid to shuffle his rotation, with Smith's minutes ranging from 19 to 30 minutes. Given the varying risks, leaving him on the bench might be the safer option.