It’s exceedingly hard to write about rotations after a trade deadline. By exceedingly, I mean kinda. Back in my day, guys didn’t rest for two games after being traded. Get in there and get sweaty. But kids these days don’t play that way, so lots of guys sat and watched a game or two. Factor in the all star break and a lot of guys have just been sitting. Where can I get some of that action? Let’s hit some of these teams.
Kings: Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan are reprising the 2023 Bulls and going all in for the play-in tournament. LaVine is locked for his normal minutes. Jonas Valenciunas is on this team now and will probably get around 20 minutes as a backup center. Keon Ellis is the main backup, but really will only get about 20 and is a backup. He’s a streamer, but the guards have been durable so just monitor.
Pelicans: Zion Williamson isn’t going to play back to backs, which stinks because he is really good when he’s playing. Jose Alvarado is a locked and loaded 35 minutes per game starter now. JaVonte Green has value as a compiler with steals and blocks as long as he’s starting as well.
Clippers: Ben Simmons is actually going to play, so if you need what he provides go ahead. 27 minutes last night. Bogan Bogdanovic loses some value but looks to be a 24-minute guy and is now just a threes specialist. Nic Batum went 29 minutes when Kawhi Leonard took it easy. I would predict when Leonard plays that Batum loses the minutes, not Simmons. This is based on the last game when Kawhi played and Batum only got 13 minutes. Historical context.
Mavs: Well, all three of their centers are missing weeks. They apparently forgot to use google and check Anthony Davis’ injury history. Someone named Kessler Edwards played 39 minutes at that spot. Max Christie is the huge winner for the rest of the season. 39 minutes and he’s been a revelation. No, not the apocalyptic type; he’s just a good player.
Heat: None of their new guys are playing so Bam Adebayo said he’d sit too. Solidarity is good team building.
Warriors: Buddy Hield looks to be the big loser with Jimmy Butler in the fold as he only played 13 minutes. The elderly Warriors then played some Euchre in the back while they sipped their coffee and talked about their 4:30 dinner reservation.
Hornets: While we wait to see what’s the deal with Mark Williams, Jusef Nurkic will man the center position. Only 15 minutes in his first game, and the Hornets are tanking, so he’s the perfect guy to just let do Nurk things. I mean, Efrid Payton is the starting point right now, and Taj Gibson is getting rotation minutes. I’m just staying away from all these guys; the team isn’t good enough to sustain fantasy value.
Magic: Almost full health, just waiting for Jalen Suggs to come back. Wendell Carter continues to get more minutes than Goga Bitazde, but it’s a game by game basis on who’s playing better that night.
Spurs: Jeremy Sochan is a big loser in minutes with just 12 last game. Looks like a three guard rotation with Chris Paul safe for now and Stephen Castle right around 24 minutes. Castle is really heating up and should be featured more and more, possibly at the expense of Paul. Castle and De’Aaron Fox are the future of the Spurs backcourt and will be deployed as such especially as they fall further out of the playoffs.
Celtics: Nothing new, just that they picked up Torrey Craig and he could be a streamer on a day a wing takes the night off.
Bulls: Matas Buzelis is now starting. He’s got a lot of flaws but will put up numbers most nights and does have a lot of upside. Tre Jones did not gain any fantasy value since the Bulls have a roster with 9 guards on it. Patrick Williams is hurt again, so you won’t miss out on his 9 points and 3 rebounds for a while with a knee issue.
Just a few notes on these guys. Thanks for reading again!
Please pick top tow off this list that you would roster for the stretch run:
Grimes, Simmons, Keyshawn, Dinwiddie, Strus, Barnes, Kispert, Dunn