Hope you all had a good weekend. It’s the depths of the season, where nights off run a plenty. My goal is to sift through the chaff of rest days and find actual changes in rotations. It’s a thankless job, but thanks for reading!
Sixers: Oh. My. Gosh. They were at full health. When Joel Embiid plays, we can expect around 32 minutes, the classic 8 minute rotation runs. Same with Paul George. Tyrese Maxey had 42 on Sunday, which is a lot, but didn’t come at the expense of Jared McCain who had 28. It seems like Kelly Oubre is a safe bet to continue whatever he’s doing too. These are the safe fantasy plays, but of course there’s going to be nights off for all, so good luck Sixers owners!
Bucks: Khris Middleton is back, baby, with 20 minutes. He apparently had surgery on both ankles so the ramp up will be long. If you need win now stats, he’s gonna be more of a longer term play. Gary Trent, Jr. is trending up with over 26 minutes in each of the last four games. He might fit better as the designated sniper with a full roster so let’s see where this goes.
Spurs: Victor Wembanyana is playing again. Jeremy Sochan logged 22 minutes and will continue to get more, last call on him right now. Remember when Keldon Johnson played in the Olympics? Well, forget them for now, he only had 10 minutes last night and I guess you have to drop him. The lure of Harrison Barnes is too strong for Keldon to overcome, I suppose. Stephen Castle looks safe, he’s golden in a dynasty and already gets 34 minutes.
Pelicans: Well, just when we said they were almost healthy Brandon Ingram gets a severe ankle sprain and is out for probably 3 years. That’s just how the Pelican cookie crumbles. Herb Jones is back and will get all the minutes he can handle. So will Trey Murphy. They both had around 38 Sunday, but Murphy was far, far more productive. Yves Missi continues to start and eclipsed 31 and would be a solid add.
Blazers: I guess they’re a real team, and should be at least mentioned or the legions of flannel wearing axe toting Trail Blazers fans will come at me online. Scoot Henderson is the distinct backup (20 minutes) as Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe both regularly play over 30. If you choose, you can keep an eye on Toumani Camara. He’s regularly clearing 30 minutes. There’s really nobody on the bench worth monitoring until Donovan Clingan returns from his knee injury in some unforeseen date in the future. There. Now let’s get back to ignoring them as usual.
Kings: Kevin Huerter put up a big number, but it probably was just a function of who’s hotter between him and Malik Monk. I wouldn’t think that his rotation minutes will continue.
Utah: Kyle Filipowski is back but his minutes are still on the injured list. John Collins earned the starting role, so until Utah commits to the tank fully he will start. Fun run, Flip.
Clippers: James Harden missed this one with a groin injury but it isn’t supposed to be serious. So go ahead and ignore Kevin Porter’s 37 minutes as a function of this. Also, remember that Porter shouldn’t be in the league. Derrick Jones, Jr. and Nicolas Batum form possibly the least productive fill in for Kawhi Leonard we can possibly see. Speaking of Leonard, he’s doing some basketball activities now. This is behooving for a basketball player, right? He could be back around Christmas, but don’t rely on that.
Nuggets: I hadn’t noticed Aaron Gordon was back, but there he is, right in his usual rotation slot. Jamal Murray, on the other hand, has something going on in his hamstring. Russell Westbrook is starting in his place and going 31 minutes. Peyton Watson can be dropped, which I had to do because I hadn’t noticed Aaron Gordon back. Still basically the starting five are usable, and the rest can be ignored due to minutes being smaller.
