RADIO
Euan Leith looks at fantasy basketball starting lineup changes for Week 19. These NBA players are seeing increases or decreases in minutes and playing time.
Welcome to Rotation Watch! Each week this article will break down who is gaining minutes around the NBA. Fantasy managers want the players that are getting the opportunity to shine, not the ones who are sitting on the bench and watching from the sidelines.
It's time for the contenders to shine and the pretenders to fall by the wayside. There are 25 or so games left in the regular season, and you, the diligent fantasy basketball manager, haven't been watching countless games, patrolling dozens of boxscores, and poaching talent off the waiver wire to let your championship aspirations fade away now. It's time to buckle down and secure that playoff spot or increase that roto lead. Rotations get whacky at the end of the regular season, and we will keep track of them for you on the road to fantasy glory in 2020.
So without further ado, let's start searching those box scores from Feb. 10 to Feb. 23 and look for those hidden gems that are grabbing the minutes to help your fantasy basketball team achieve the ultimate prize, a championship.
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NBA Playing Time Changes
Malik Beasley (PG, SG - Minnesota Timberwolves)
Season: 19.9 Minutes per Game
Since joining MIN: 33.8 Minutes per Game
Malik Beasley showed flashes of potential last year that had fantasy managers dreaming of what he could do if given a full workload. That dream has become a reality since his trade to the Minnesota Timberwolves from the Denver Nuggets. It's been five games since he was shipped north in that four-team trade before the deadline, and he is producing phenomenal results.
In Denver, the 2016 first-round pick was averaging 19.9 minutes per game, but Minnesota decided to take off the training wheels and have given the guard 33.8 minutes per game to showcase his talents. Beasley is averaging 22 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and four made three-pointers per game. He is also shooting 46 percent from the floor on 17.4 shots per game and draining 43.5 percent of his shots from behind the arc. He has scored 15-plus points in every game as a member of the Timberwolves and scored at least 23 points in three of those five games. These performances have added up to him being a top-25 shooting guard since Feb. 10. He is available in 54 percent of leagues but should be universally owned for the remainder of the fantasy basketball season if this recent stretch continues.
Malik Monk (SG - Charlotte Hornets)
Season: 21.2 Minutes per Game
Weeks 17 and 18: 29.5 Minutes per Game
Charlotte Hornets guard Malik Monk has been buzzing around the basketball court in recent weeks, and it's time for fantasy basketball managers to take a closer look at the third-year pro.
Over the last two weeks, Monk has averaged 20.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, one steal, and 2.5 made threes per game over 29.5 minutes. Those are impressive numbers and made the former-Kentucky player a top-30 guard over the extended All-Star break period. He sandwiched the All-Star break with two memorable performances. On Feb. 13 against Minnesota, Monk recorded 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocks, one steal, and three three-pointers. Then, after a week off, the shooting guard came back and dropped another 25 points on the road against the Chicago Bulls.
After missing a game on Jan. 15, Monk has been a serious contributor to the scoring categories. He has now scored 11-plus points in 11 of his previous 12 games and has also topped the 19-point mark in 6 of those 12. He is still young and is worth a flyer in most formats in case this is the beginning of a delayed scoring breakout for the 2017 first-round pick.
Tim Hardaway Jr. (SG, SF - Dallas Mavericks)
Season: 27.6 Minutes per Game
Weeks 17 and 18: 34.5 Minutes per Game
Last spring, everyone was jumping on the Mavericks to be a sleeper in the Western Conference this year after they traded for Kristaps Porzingis. In a turn of events that no one saw coming, it's another piece of that trade, Tim Hardaway Jr., that has kept Dallas afloat while Luka Doncic and Porzingis recover from their respective injuries.
Tim Hardaway is getting buckets. His minutes have leaped over the 30 minutes per game mark during the last two weeks, and his production has followed suit. He has scored at least 10 points in eight straight games, at least 16 points in four consecutive games, and he has scored 33 points in two of his last four games. His averages for the four games played between Feb. 10 and Feb.23 were 25.3 points on 55.6 percent shooting, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 4.8 made threes at a 47.5 clip from downtown.
A lot of his value comes from his scoring ability and the health of Donic and Prozingis. For now, they are both hobbled with injuries, so the 2013 first-round pick is well worth an addition from the waiver wire.
Daniel Theis (PF, C - Boston Celtics)
Season: 23.2 Minutes per Game
Weeks 17 and 18: 28.0 Minutes per Game
Guten tag Daniel Theis! The big man from Germany has strung some impressive performances together for the Boston Celtics thanks to a spike in minutes. He's started 49 games this season but was playing less than 24 minutes per game until recently. Over the last two weeks, that number has climbed up to 28 minutes per game and Theis is rewarding Brad Stevens, and 44 percent of fantasy teams that roster him, with some great results.
Over his four games from Feb. 10 to Feb. 23, the power forward averaged 16 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, but he has taken it up a level since the All-Star break. On Saturday, he had 25 points and 16 rebounds against a Minnesota Timberwolves team missing Karl-Anthony Towns. That was his fifth double-double of the season and then nearly collected number six the following day against the Los Angeles Lakers when he recorded 16 points and nine rebounds.
If these box scores come around more frequently, there's potential for the third-year player to see his ownership shoot up from its current 44 percent mark in leagues. The Celtics are in a tight battle for a top-three seed in the Eastern Conference, and if Theis becomes Brad Stevens' go-to big man, then the German will have plenty of opportunities to keep the good times rolling down the final stretch of the regular season.
Dewayne Dedmon (C - Atlanta Hawks)
Season: 17.0 Minutes per Game
Since joining ATL: 24.6 Minutes per Game
Atlanta Hawks center Dewayne Dedmon has reunited with his former team and seems set for a significant role down the stretch. With head coach Lloyd Pierce saying that newly-acquired Clint Capela is still a few weeks away from returning to game action, Dedmon should have plenty of run as the starting center for the Hawks.
Now that he is back in Atlanta, there is not a lot of competition for minutes. He is up to 24.6 minutes per game in his five games with the Hawks and was a top-15 center for Weeks 17 and 18 of the fantasy basketball season. He averaged 7.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks, but also saw an increase in his shot attempts (7.4) and three-point shots (3.2).
Although none of those stats jump off the page to the casual observer, smart managers will take notice of the rebounds and blocks. Those statistics are a needed commodity in many formats, and grabbing them without a lot of risks makes Dedmon more attractive on the waiver wire. The season is winding down, but players like Dedmon are trying to prove that they deserve a roster spot next season. The Hawks have already shipped him out once, and I'm sure the seven-year veteran would like to prove his worth to the organization with a decent run of form over the final third of the regular season.
