It was an all-Conference Finals sixth week of the postseason, and we now have two series that stand at 2-1, but that have reached that point in surprising fashion. With a pair of road upsets by the Pacers followed by a rousing Knicks comeback – and an almost unfathomable rout of the Thunder by the Timberwolves in Game 3 of their series – there have been no shortage of noteworthy individual efforts.
As customary, we'll dive into the top five fantasy performers on the remaining four teams, followed by a glance at five players that typically carry very reasonable salaries in DFS contests and are therefore worth considering for what remains of each series.
Visit RotoWire's NBA Daily Starting Lineups to find out starters for every game on the schedule, and find out who to target the rest of the way with RotoWire's NBA Projections!
Fantasy Basketball Playoff Rankings for Week 6
#1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder 
Last Week: 47.8 FP/G
With Nikola Jokić now out of the postseason picture, it's only fitting to see the newly minted MVP sitting atop this week's rankings. Even after playing just 28 minutes in an astounding Game 3 thrashing at the hands of the T-Wolves, Gilgeous-Alexander still averaged 27.7 points, 7.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals across 36.0 minutes per contest during OKC's 2-1 start to the Western Conference Finals. The star guard garnered the top spot despite shooting a middling 42.6%, including 27.3% from 3-point range, well below his
It was an all-Conference Finals sixth week of the postseason, and we now have two series that stand at 2-1, but that have reached that point in surprising fashion. With a pair of road upsets by the Pacers followed by a rousing Knicks comeback – and an almost unfathomable rout of the Thunder by the Timberwolves in Game 3 of their series – there have been no shortage of noteworthy individual efforts.
As customary, we'll dive into the top five fantasy performers on the remaining four teams, followed by a glance at five players that typically carry very reasonable salaries in DFS contests and are therefore worth considering for what remains of each series.
Visit RotoWire's NBA Daily Starting Lineups to find out starters for every game on the schedule, and find out who to target the rest of the way with RotoWire's NBA Projections!
Fantasy Basketball Playoff Rankings for Week 6
#1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder
Last Week: 47.8 FP/G
With Nikola Jokić now out of the postseason picture, it's only fitting to see the newly minted MVP sitting atop this week's rankings. Even after playing just 28 minutes in an astounding Game 3 thrashing at the hands of the T-Wolves, Gilgeous-Alexander still averaged 27.7 points, 7.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals across 36.0 minutes per contest during OKC's 2-1 start to the Western Conference Finals. The star guard garnered the top spot despite shooting a middling 42.6%, including 27.3% from 3-point range, well below his usual standards. An average of 11 visits to the free-throw line per contest – as well as an 84.8% success rate from there – helped keep his scoring robust.
#2. Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers 
Last Week: 46.6 FP/G
Haliburton's Pacers came within a whisper of forging what would have likely been an insurmountable 3-0 series lead Sunday night, and although they fell short in that regard, their leader put together a highly productive week overall. Haliburton posted a second consecutive 31-point postseason effort to open the series at Madison Square Garden, and although he had just 14 points on 5-for-16 shooting in Game 2, he generated a second straight 11-assist tally in that game alongside eight rebounds and a pair of steals. Sunday's Game 3 then featured Haliburton's fantasy versatility, considering he turned in a well-balanced line of 20 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals over 37 minutes in the tough loss.
#3. Anthony Edwards, Timberwolves 
Last Week: 46.3 FP/G
Edwards had shot just 36.4% in four regular-season meetings against the Thunder and had endured a couple of tough nights from the floor earlier in the postseason as well, so his normally bullish fantasy outlook was somewhat murky coming into the WCF. Edwards was indeed unremarkable as a scorer in Game 1 while going just 5-for-13 from the field, but he roared back to average 31.0 points on 55.8% shooting over Games 2 and 3. He's also pulled down exactly nine rebounds in each of the first three games and added matching six-assist contributions in the last two contests, vaulting him to No. 3 on this list as one of the driving forces behind Minnesota's quest to overcome long odds to survive OKC and emerge as Western Conference champs.
#4. Jalen Brunson, Knicks 
Last Week: 41.6 FP/G
Brunson had an interesting first three games of the Eastern Conference Finals, as he delivered standout fantasy efforts in New York's alarming back-to-back losses at MSG to open the series, then was sidelined by foul trouble for significant swaths of the Knicks' valiant Game 3 comeback at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday night. Brunson averaged an outstanding 39.5 points (on 53.8% shooting), 8.0 assists and 2.0 rebounds across 38.5 minutes in Games 1 and 2, but the frequent whistles against him in Game 3 helped lead to a 23-point, two-rebound, one-assist showing in 31 minutes. Brunson didn't help his cause by going just 6-for-18 from floor, his most inefficient showing since Game 2 against the Celtics in the semifinal round.
#5. Karl-Anthony Towns, Knicks
Last Week: 40.8 FP/G
Like Brunson, Towns found himself already guilty of four fouls with plenty of time remaining in the second half of Game 3, but he persevered and spearheaded New York's comeback from a 20-point deficit via a 24-point, 15-rebound, one-assist effort. He'd also opened the series with a 35-point, 12-rebound double-double in Game 1 at MSG, and he's made good use of his 7.7 visits to the free-throw line during the first three games by converting them into points at an 87.0% clip.
DFS Value Plays To Consider in Coming Games
Agree with these recommendations? Give them a spin with various combinations of other players in RotoWire's NBA DFS Lineup Optimizer.
Mikal Bridges, Knicks
Last Week: 32.0 FP/G
While his shooting has remained spotty (44.2%), Bridges is still providing a well-rounded 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals per contest over the first three games of the series while encouragingly putting up 17.3 shots per game.
Aaron Nesmith, Pacers
Last Week: 30.9 FP/G
Nesmith had a relatively quiet Game 3 after missing some time due to a rolled ankle, but his 30-point effort on the strength of eight 3-pointers in Game 1 served as a reminder of the upside he offers as a DFS tournament play.
Jaden McDaniels, Timberwolves
Last Week: 25.8 FP/G
McDaniels has been all over the scoring map in the first three games – he has tallies of seven, 22 and 10 points – but the fact he's shooting 46.7% from deep and also supplying 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 blocks in that span keeps him in firm consideration as a strong mid-salary play.
Naz Reid, Timberwolves
Last Week: 23.9 FP/G
It's been a somewhat odd postseason for the typically reliable Reid, and the first three games of the series have been an extension of that considering he's shot just 32.0%, including 13.3% from behind the arc. However, the big man has three consecutive eight-rebound efforts and at least one block in each of the first three games of the series, helping somewhat offset the offensive slump.
Andrew Nembhard, Pacers
Last Week: 21.9 FP/G
Nembhard remains a clear complementary piece, but he's making good use of his opportunities as usual by averaging 12.0 points (48.1% shooting, including 50.0% from distance), 3.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists across 36.7 minutes in the first three ECF games.
What plays are the RotoWire basketball experts dialing in on? Check out our free NBA betting picks for all of today's top plays!
