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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
Kyle Anderson - SF/PF, Minnesota Timberwolves
ESPN: 5.1% rostered
Week 1: 20:42 Minutes per Game
I'll start things off this week with Kyle Anderson. Anderson is just now coming back from an injury, so we haven't really seen him play a ton of minutes this season. I do fully expect his 20.7 minutes per game to see quite a big increase in the coming weeks.
Karl-Anthony Towns will be missing anywhere between 4-6 weeks with a calf injury. Anderson was his starting replacement on Wednesday night against the Grizzlies, where he logged ten points, six rebounds, and five assists across a whopping 39 minutes. Another big thing to notice here is that Jaden McDaniels did not play in that game due to a coach's decision, so I do believe that Anderson is a must-roster until Towns returns.
Jalen McDaniels - SF, Charlotte Hornets
ESPN: 4.8% rostered
Week 1: 25.42 Minutes per Game
I wrote up McDaniels earlier this season, and am writing him up again as Gordan Hayward has gone down with another injury. It's unfortunate that Hayward keeps getting injured, but it does create waiver value as we know that not only will McDaniels play more minutes, but it will come on a Charlotte team that allows a ton of points, and has to play at a high pace.
While McDaniels averages just over 25 minutes on the season, that number has increased to 30.5 in his last two games post-Hayward injury. In those two games, he averaged 16 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists. He's a solid add, particularly in points-based leagues, but his low roster percentage overall makes him an interesting waiver piece until Hayward returns.
Zach Collins - C, San Antonio Spurs
ESPN: 2.1% rostered
Week 9: 18:00 Minutes per Game
I'll finish things off this week with Zach Collins. Collins is coming off a game Wednesday night where he logged nine points, six rebounds, and three assists across 27 minutes against the Thunder.
San Antonio's big men are dealing with a bit of a minor-injury bug, which opens up some value for us, at least for the next week. Jakob Poeltl is dealing with a knee injury, while Jeremy Sochan is dealing with a quad injury. After his 27-minute game against OKC on Wednesday night, I see Collins filling the big man slot until both starters return, which as of now is projected to be December 8th.
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