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The regular season is inching closer by the day, and most offseason moves have already been completed – barring a surprising Simmons/Beal/Dame trade before tipoff. Each team's depth chart is mostly complete, so it makes sense to start analyzing how it could work come October. Before diving into the fantasy season, RotoBaller has you covered with some last-minute basketball depth chart recaps for each team, including some useful bits of analysis for players you want to keep on your radar.
The charts below are based on usage rates and minutes per game data from the 2021 season, while the rosters have been updated to reflect these offseason moves. The charts don't include players drafted this past July, as we don't have data about them regarding MPG/USG% in the NBA. That being said, comments will be made on rookies when deemed necessary in each team breakdown blurb.
Here are the current preseason depth charts for the Eastern Conference Atlantic Division.
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Impact Rookies: None
There is a lot of clarity in the Knicks roster albeit for the minor debate going on regarding who will start at SG/SF among the duo of Evan Fournier and Quentin Grimes. Of course, RJ Barrett is out of the question as a bonafide starter, whether that is at SG or SF.
Starting with the younger, Grimes seemed to be hyper-valued by the franchise. So much so that New York decided it was better to keep Grimes than to trade him away for an established All-Star (Donovan Mitchell). It's Thibs coaching though, so that should give us pause. Anyway, if Grimes doesn't start he will still be a major factor off the bench. Count on some 25+ MPG next season if not more, but don't get too excited about Grimes' production as he's the definition of a 3&D player without much upside outside of his 4+ 3PA per game (more than 80% of his total FGA came from outside the three-point line).
Whether Fournier starts or is sent to the pine, he's a must-draft player. He's coming off his best three-point-shooting season hitting 38.9% of his 7.7 3PA per game. Fournier put up 14+ PPG but his production outside of that was putrid (14-2-2-2-1 line). Even then, though he averaged 24 FPPG and should be available for peanuts, a good deal for a niche specialist.
Mitchell Robinson is another specialist doing it in New York. He will give you tons of blocks (nearly 2 BPG last year) and rebounds (8+ RPG), but he's not relied upon scoring so the PPG figure is horrific.
Julius Randle should bounce back (at least some) to his outlier 2021 campaign because last year's version was truly atrocious. That might help you grab some Randle shares cheaper than you should. Count on 20+ PPG, 8+ RPG, and 4+ APG easily because if Randle is something, that's a hella great stat-stuffer. Same for Barrett, only on a lower level (a lock for a daily 15-5-3 with upside for more and most probably fixing his turnovers a bit, which is also good).
Jalen Brunson changed teams and won't have Luka around anymore, but that also means that he's going to handle true PG duties in New York. In other words, the dimes will go up, the rebounds might go down a bit, and the points might go up a tick or two. No real under-the-radar players worth drafting here unless you're in a super-deep league, in which case Isaiah Hartenstein and Immanuel Quickley might have some upside (PPG+RPG and PPG+RPG+APG+3PA respectively).
Boston Celtics - Fantasy Basketball Depth Charts
Impact Rookies: None
You NBA Finalist! Yay! You gotta draft them all! Only: please, don't do so. In the past few weeks and months Boston signed-then-lost Danilo Gallinari with a devastating injury, kept Al Horford (he of the age-36 season ahead) in a starter role, suspended its head coach for the full 2023 season, and most recently announced that Robert Williams will miss between 8 and 12 weeks from the start of October on – no return until December at the soonest, that is.
As has been the case for a few years now, you just don't hesitate in drafting Jayson Tatum and/or Jaylen Brown: guaranteed top-30 OVR seasons by both men with upside for top-10 campaigns. Horford is still good and might actually see his rebounds go up for a double-double season, but that's betting on his availability and production at the ripe age of 36 (he's coming off a 10-7-1, though).
No Robert Williams to start the year definitely hurts my heart and he's going to miss so much time that drafting him early might not really pay off. Also, the big man is just 24 but has undergone surgery and suffered bad injuries more than a few times. Can't like that outlook so much.
Smart is a real-life great, fantasy-realm dud. Not quite that, but you get where I come from. He's a dog, but he just doesn't pad the stat line at all and his 50.1 percent 3PA% rate isn't that smart (pun intended) considering he hits triples at a 33% clip. I'd rather draft Malcolm Brogdon for a much lower ADP than Smart at a premium price. Derrick White (13-3-4-1-1) can give you free throws and some low-but-steady stat line with contributions on all fronts and not may TOPG.
Brooklyn Nets - Fantasy Basketball Depth Charts
Impact Rookies: None
It is ridiculous to discuss a team as loaded as the Nets without really knowing how they'll look in just three or four months. On paper, and assuming every piece stays put and the organization is not dismantled, this is as strong a contender as they get. I don't even need to tell you how obvious it is to draft any of the members of this Big 3.
Durant is a top-10 OVR player with upside for more, Kyrie has it in him to break into the top-25, and Simmons at his best is another top-30 asset. Now, are we sure they will be willing to play, and even if that's the case, available and fit enough to appear in more than 40/50 games? That's what you have to think about when it comes to drafting these guys. Risk-averse or risk-taker, what do you prefer?
Those three will eat that much ball, though, that there might not be much more value to extract from BK. Seth Curry and Joe Harris (some GMs have forgotten about him; take advantage) are three-point machines and will play a very precise and well-defined role in the offense so get them if you want/need 3PA/3PM/3P%.
Patty Mills has been an extraordinary WW target for years but I'm not sure if he's worthy of a roster spot anymore. There are similarly priced/available big men with more upside than Nic Claxton. T.J. Warren is the ultimate flier (too much of a risk right now, though). Day'Ron Sharpe's role will probably be super limited, but he might end the season as the best/most efficient under-the-radar Net (his RBD% of 22.3 was quite the figure).
Philadelphia 76ers - Fantasy Basketball Depth Charts
Impact Rookies: None
Copy-paste the section about the Nets above, change some Nets, and there you have it. The Sixers are ridiculously packed full of talent. Harden, Embiid, and Harris alone are an extraordinary fantasy trio. Maxey just exploded last season. Tucker will help cover for their defensive mistakes – as if they were bad. Adding wood to that fire Daryl Morey brought the likes of Montrez Harrell and Danuel House Jr. to the team. Seriously.
We're talking about two 50+ FPPG performers and top-10 players OVR in Harden and Embiid. Even if they don't play more than 60 games each they're going to be top-10 players in the C and G leaderboards no matter what.
Tobias Harris might bring some more questions, but he played a freaking 35 MPG last season over 73 games...so what's the problem with his average-at-best per-minute production? Nothing!
Tyrese Maxey, P.J. Tucker, and Georges Niang are incredible three-point shooters (Tucker on lower volume, mind you) worth the gamble for that cat alone. Maxey, of course, is the one with the best outlook of them as he can also provide some RPG (3+) and APG (4+), but I'm not entirely sure he can keep up with the 17+ PPG of last season. There should be some regression on that front.
I was excited about watching a full season of Paul Reed (elite 1.15 FP/min last year on 38 games on just 8 MPG) but he won't have ample chances with Harrell now in town. De'Anthony Melton won't have a starter role but he might be one of the super-subs of the season – he logged 23 MPG last year in just 15-of-73 starts with Memphis and still put up an 11-4-2-1 line (great 3P% on large volume but horrid FTA/FT%).
Toronto Raptors - Fantasy Basketball Depth Charts
Impact Rookies: None
Yes, the Raptors traded for Kawhi Leonard and won the chip they always wanted. The problem is that Leonard bolted away that same summer and this Raptors core might be entering its make-or-break, final years of contention until enduring a rebuild or getting forced to pull off another blockbuster move or something of the like.
Don't get me wrong, Siakam and FVV are still young at 27/28 years old, but it's two more years before handing the franchise to sophomore Scottie and forgetting about the then-aging vets. For now, don't hesitate and go grab some shares of the former two as soon as possible. Both guys come with baseline projections of 20-4-5-1 with upside for more (RPG for Siakam, APG for FVV).
Barnes is going to command a huge price/ADP to draft this season after his rookie year. He's well worth it, folks, but don't overpay for a second-year player if you can find a legitimate, solidified, and established vet out there with the same production and less risk baked into his outlook. Barnes, though, played 74 G and 35+ MPG. He averaged a 15-7-3-1 per-game line as a rookie. He doesn't know what shooting three-point shots means, but you can't have it all.
The major problem with the Raptors is that there is no team giving more minutes to their starters. All five averaged at least 35 MPG last season and the sixth-man (Precious Achiuwa) didn't even reach 24 MPG. Relying on those super-short runs is always risky, but if you want to bet on per-minute production the best player out there is Chris Boucher (9-6 with nearly 1 BPG on top of that on just 21 MPG appearing in 80 G).
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