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John looks at fantasy basketball starting lineup changes for Week 17 of the 2022-23 NBA season. These players are seeing increases in minutes and playing time.
Welcome to Rotation Watch, RotoBallers! Each week, this article will highlight the players gaining minutes in their team's rotation. Fantasy managers want to roster the players that accumulate stats and rack up the playing time. They want to avoid the players falling out of favor and watching the action from the sidelines.
With the new season here, Rotation Watch is well... back in the rotation. With new rotations and players bouncing around from season to season, it's important to take note of who's "in" and who's "out". I've been consistently updating my data model to account for minutes over the 2022-2023 regular season, as well as each player's last four games, and their stats based on who's on and who's off the floor (accounting for injury, etc.).
So without further ado, let's start searching those box scores and look for those hidden gems that grabbed minutes to help your fantasy basketball team achieve the ultimate prize: a championship. Of course, these suggestions are the cream of the crop, and if you ever need an extra slice of advice, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @LucidMediaDFS.
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NBA Playing Time Changes
Taurean Prince - SF, Minnesota Timberwolves
ESPN: 0.3% rostered
Week 16: 21:20 Minutes per Game
I'll start off this week out in Minnesota. Note that this article was written in between the three-team trade and their game on Wednesday night. In said trade, Minnesota sent D'Angelo Russell to the Lakers.
With Russell out of Minnesota, that opens up the door for the shooting guard and small forward position to see more minutes, whether it be starting or coming off of the bench. Prince averaged 7.33 points, two rebounds, 1.67 assists, and 1.3 steals and blocks over the last week of game action. With his minutes likely going up after this trade, I expect these numbers to increase, whether Prince is starting or coming off the bench.
Jaylen Nowell - SG, Minnesota Timberwolves
ESPN: 1.5% rostered
Week 16: 18:40 Minutes per Game
I'm going to double up on Timberwolves here following the Russell trade. While Prince may end up being a reliable streamer/waiver pickup long-term, I think Nowell is a solid streamer option in the short term.
Despite playing less than 20 minutes per game last week, Nowell averaged eight points, three rebounds, and 2.33 assists last week off the bench for the T-Wolves. He is starting on Wednesday night, but I can't imagine that he's going to remain there for a while. Mike Conley was included in the aforementioned three-team deal and is headed for Minnesota, while Jordan McLaughlin is returning from injury. However, I'll take a look at Jaylen Nowell for the few games or so if I'm short on guards.
Malakai Branham - SG, San Antonio Spurs
ESPN: 2.9% rostered
Week 16: 33:00 Minutes per Game
I'll finish things up this week with Malakai Branham. Branham has been somewhat of a "DFS darling" over the past week, and I'll be looking to pick him up at least in the short term here. Branham has started and played at least 32 minutes in each of his last three games prior to Wednesday night, so he's one to keep an eye on here.
Branham has averaged 21 points, 2.67 rebounds, and three assists over the three games he played those 32+ minutes in the last week. Devin Vassell will likely be out for at least another two weeks, and while Tre Jones, Romeo Langford, and Jeremy Sochan are all on their way back, I'm expecting Gregg Popovich to give the 19-year-old guard some quality minutes moving forward considering the Spurs do not have much to play for this season.
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