See, look guys, a theme! I can’t stress the importance enough of monitoring minutes. One thing I should mention, I won’t make notes about blowout games. Yes, I’m talking to you Golden State and Portland. Those minute distributions won’t be accurate. The rest though are gold.
Pacers and Pistons: Andrew Nembhard hit 34 minutes, Bennedict Mathurin 27, which left Aaron Nesmith as the odd man out despite starting with 17 minutes. He did battle an ankle injury, so it may have flared up, but the internet won’t answer that question. It’s too bad, Nesmith is a nice player in a high paced offense. No real surprises here otherwise.
For Detroit, Tim Hardaway, Jr. looks to be their 3 point specialist. He tallied 28 minutes, shooting 4-7 from deep and 4-9 overall, which is kinda funny. He’s a good end of the roster guy as he fell out of favor in Dallas, but the skills didn’t erode as much as his role did. Now he might be able to just stand out there and shoot. Jalen Duren is the clear starter over Isaiah Stewart. Ron Holland got 16 minutes and is a player to monitor especially as the Capture the Flagg game gets going. He’s the perfect guy to roll out there to tank, er, um, develop. He’s the guy to get later in the season, but leave him alone for now.
Nets-Hawks: Ben Simmons must have impressed the Nets with his workout videos as he started and tallied 24 minutes. Nic Claxton must not have posted enough online, as he was benched and then ejected, so the 17 minutes will rise. The team says it’s precautionary minutes limits due to a hamstring injury from training camp, so temporary worries are okay, but long term is not. Well, it can be. You do you! I don’t have Claxton anywhere, or any Net really, and their rotation will change and players will sit out with little dings and stuff. The one thing we know? Cam Thomas is getting 25 shots no matter what.
For the Hawks, Onyeka Okongwu had 28 minutes and Clint Capela only 19. Capela started, and Okongu was 10-11. This is still a timeshare, and when someone gets hot like that they’ll get minutes. Dyson Daniels is the real story since we should have guessed the center position would be like it always has been. Daniels started and played 34 minutes. With his 2 treys and 5 steals, yes, he should be rostered. Guy will be Quinn Snyder’s best friend.
Orlando: Jalen Suggs only had 12 minutes, but that was a gameflow type of situation. He picked up 3 fouls in the first half and only played five minutes, then Orlando pushed their lead over 20 in the third quarter so he got to take a night off. Don’t worry, they PAID Suggs, he’s going to play. Follow the money.
Sixers: Caleb Martin didn’t start as I had predicted, but did have 37 minutes off of the bench with two starters injured. Look for his minutes to settle at about 28 in a normal night, but with the team’s well documented injury problems, he’s a lock to get the minutes on a nightly basis. Guerschon Yabusele had a 25 minute outing and fouled out; he’s the one who’s going to lose minutes when Paul George plays. He did have 4 boards, 3 assists, a 3 pointer, and 3 steals, so he could be a low end streamer. Just don’t count on him for steady production.
Bulls: Patrick Williams won’t get 24 minutes every night. He’s just not a good NBA player. If you have him, and can still move him, do it. Jalen Smith is a guy to watch. The Bulls have very little size and he provides mobility and athleticism that they don’t get anywhere else. Look for him to settle at about 24 minutes per game as we go on. The rest of the bench will play spot minutes. They are planning on a ten man rotation this season, limiting the upside of any backup besides Ayo Dosunmu.
Pelicans: Yves Missi out minuted and out performed Daniel Theis, and when their frontcourt is at full strength I would expect Theis to be benched, not Missi. Missi is a special athlete. This is the game I actually watched, and ran out to get Missi. In his first game, he was clearly the best athlete on the court and will be an impactful performer and just all out fun guy to own. Think Mark Williams but with availability. Dejaunte Murray busted his hand, by the way. Jordan Hawkins is the guy to monitor, if not add, but probably the Pelicans just let Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson do more. Missi is the biggest takeaway from the night.
Suns: It’s going to take an injury for Grayson Allen to repeat last year. Tyus Jones came in and took 35 minutes, and with 8 assists and 0 turnovers that makes me happy as I own him in every league. Mason Plumlee had 14 minutes and Joseph Nurkic 22 and that could be a small ball trend here. Main takeaway is that Tyus Jones is going to kill Allen’s value until Bradley Beal misses time, which he will.
Grizzlies: Zach Edey despite the hype only had 14 minutes, but that should rise as the season goes on. He had a tough matchup with Walker Kessler on the other side, and some nights he’ll just not be playable. Jay Huff had 22 minutes and did well but that may just be temporary due to injuries. Going back to his days at Virginia, he never screamed NBA potential to me. Or scream at all. He’s a very quiet fella. Gentle giant, maybe.
Jazz: John Collins only had 14 minutes and that’s clearly not going to be good for him. Taylor Hendricks done stole his job! Kyle Filipowski had some buzz, but didn’t get off the bench and then went crying home to his mama, er, sorry, girlfriend who’s as old as his mama. Cody Williams had a quiet debut but 20 minutes seems like a good baseline for the rookie from Colorado.
So that’s what I saw last night. I’ll be back early next week with some weekend takeaways.
