Chicago: Josh Giddey is rapidly falling out of favor with Chicago and if you can get something for him, I would try to do that thing. He’s not closing games even though he’s starting them. Against Milwaukee he totaled 24 minutes and did very little except get called out by Doris Burke for lack of effort. 24 seems okay, but keep in mind that Patrick Williams missed this game (and will be out for a while and can be cut) with recurring soreness in his surgically repaired foot. Torrey Craig is worth a look. He’s actually good at basketball, unlike Giddey, and has some run to start and get his season going.
I’m gonna go a bit deeper here on Chicago. Zach LaVine will get as many minutes as he can handle, as will Nikola Vucevic. LaVine’s scoring is just irreplaceable here, and there is no other center. Solid hold. Coby White is the same as he has been. Ayo Dosunmu’s upside is capped by his shooting, but his minutes are stable in the mid 20s. Really, the worst situation is the Josh Giddey one, and I’d be getting away from that hot mess soon. His hair is pretty, but his game is the mullet of basketball players.
Sixers: Tyrese Maxey is back and ready to continue tanking your FG% category. Kelly Oubre moved to the bench, but Jared McCain’s role looks to be safe after another Paul George injury (bone bruise-knee). Keep Andre Drummond around for when Joel Embiid sits but make sure he’s out of your lineup for the games Embiid suits up. McCain is a hold and is probably rookie of the year at this point. Anyone who watched him in college for 30 games appreciates him.
Warriors: They’re still rolling with the 12 man rotation, and I’m here for it. With this crazy pace everyone wants to play at, injuries are up 35%. You may remember this number from articles such as one of my previous ones. Less minutes=less injuries, theoretically. Golden State has been at the forefront of analytics for some time and it won’t shock me to see more team s follow suit……
Hawks: Bogjan Bogdanovic returned from his non injury health issue and instantly returned to his sixth man status, killing the value of the guys who aspire to that lofty rotation position. Zaccharie Risacher was down to 19 minutes and is probably the one most affected.
Suns: What the sam hill? Why did Mason Plumlee only get 3 minutes after I pimped him as a starter? Royce O’Neale moved into the lineup. So I guess we’re basing starters based on matchups, eh? It did make sense to go with a wing vs. the Knicks, so don’t stress Plumlee here. You probably shouldn’t have stressed anyway, this is a hobby after all. These things happen, move on, move on.
Hornets: Reports are that Mark Williams and Nic Richards are both with the team and participating in team activities. Whether this is basketball activities or playing charades is not specified. I guess you can take a flyer on them, but I don’t trust that health at all. Moussa Diabite would be affected. He moved into the starting lineup and had 32 minutes, which is 31 more than his amount of points scored. Go ahead, do you here.
Pistons: There’s some weird stuff here with Jalen Duren. He went from high minutes and 21 rebounds to the next game being sat for Isaiah Stewart. What the Bad Boys of the 90s is going on here? Duren is still preferred but Stew could be a pickup if this continues. Wendell Moore has moved ahead of Ron Holland in the rotation in deep leagues.
Just a quick one this week since I told the boss I’d try to get two a week. Hope it helps, let me know!
