RADIO
Welcome to Rotation Watch! Each week this article will break down who is gaining and who is losing minutes around the NBA. Fantasy managers want the players that are getting the opportunity to shine, not the ones who are sitting on the bench and watching from the sidelines.
We are less than a month from the NBA trade deadline. The rumor mill is already starting to churn out moves that would have a huge impact on the fantasy basketball landscape. Kevin Love is telling Cleveland that he is done being on a losing team and this week we will talk about one of his soon to be former teammates. Meanwhile, injuries to Kristaps Porzingis and Karl-Anthony Towns are opening up a lot of minutes for Maxi Kleber and a couple of Minnesota Timberwolves.
So without further ado, let's start searching those box scores from December 30th, 2019 to January 5th, 2020 and look for those hidden gems that are grabbing some minutes to help your fantasy basketball team.
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NBA Playing Time Changes
Collin Sexton (PG - Cleveland Cavaliers)
Season: 31.0 Minutes per Game
Week 11: 35.0 Minutes per Game
One downside to the NBA is that players can be written off in just a short amount of time. Now I'm not writing off Collin Sexton, but in the season and a bit sample size we have it seems fair to consider that we may have a one-category contributor on our hands. Luckily, the one category is what he excels in: getting buckets.
Through 118 career games, Sexton is averaging 17.3 points per game. That's nothing to laugh at and is quite useful in all formats. This year, he has picked it up and is averaging 18.5 points through 36 contests. That's good enough to rank him top-40 in the league in terms of scoring. In Week 11, he saw his minutes rise to 35.0 minutes per game and he averaged 23.0 points over four games. That included his first 30-point game since November 10th, 2019.
What's holding Sexton back from reaching fantasy stardom is his lack of production in all the other categories. Sure he is shooting 45.3% from the field, but he is only averaging 3.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, less than one made three per game and is shooting 29.6% from behind the arc.
He is still a hold in dynasty leagues because he is young and can still develop over time, but in season-long leagues, it may help if managers trade Sexton for a more well-rounded player that can contribute to their championship hopes in more than one category.
Terrence Ross (SG, SF - Orlando Magic)
Season: 25.2 Minutes per Game
Week 11: 26.8 Minutes per Game
Terrence Ross saw an uptick in minutes during Week 11 and it should continue to be that way for the foreseeable future. Ross' teammate, Jonathan Isaac, had been diagnosed with an injury that won't be reevaluated for 8-10 weeks. Ross is in line to be one of the main beneficiaries in Isaac's absence.
The problem with Ross is the same problem that was mentioned earlier with Collin Sexton. He only contributes to a couple of categories: points and three-pointers made. Fortunately for him and his owners, he was very effective in those categories during Week 11. He averaged 21.3 points on 56.4% shooting and made 2.8 threes across three games and had two of his three highest-scoring performances this season.
Ross is worth a flyer in standard leagues because of the Isaac injury. If he grabs a majority of the minutes that are up for grabs, Ross will likely see his counting stats rise and his fantasy value will follow as a result.
Robert Covington (SF, PF - Minnesota Timberwolves)
Season: 28.7 Minutes per Game
Week 11: 33.0 Minutes per Game
The trade deadline is February 6th this year and signs are starting to point towards Robert Convington being on a different team by then. His ability to shoot three-pointers and defend on the wing is a coveted skill set in the NBA and especially in the playoffs. With Minnesota falling out of playoff contention, Covington has a few weeks to put together a string of good performances and become a higher value trade asset.
Those performances may have already started. In Week 11, Covington averaged 14.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals, and 3.0 made threes. He played at least 30 minutes in all three games and collected his third double-double of the season.
With Karl-Anthony Towns still sidelined, Covington can expect to maintain his role on the offensive side of the ball in Minnesota. He's not excellent in any category, but his season averages of 12.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.6 steals, and 2.1 made threes make him well-rounded enough to be on most rosters this season.
Maximilian Kleber (PF - Dallas Mavericks)
Season: 24.6 Minutes per Game
Week 11: 33.7 Minutes per Game
Kristaps Porzingis has been sidelined for a few games with some knee problems and it has left the door wide open for fellow European Maxi Kleber to put up some great stat lines for fantasy basketball teams.
Kleber averaged 33.7 minutes per game over three contests in Week 11 and had good to great performances in all three. Last Tuesday he recorded a double-double with 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds. Then on Saturday, he came flying off the bench to score a career-high 24 points and made six threes. He hit at least three three-pointers in every game last week and is shooting 40.7% from deep this season.
When Kleber does get big minutes though, he takes advantage of them and produces. In games that he plays at least 25 minutes, he averages 12.2 points and 6.6 rebounds and in games that he plays under 25 minutes, he averages 6.4 points and 4.8 rebounds. Porzingis is expected back shortly, but if news comes out that he needs more time to come back then Kleber will be an admirable fill-in for those teams looking for a power forward that can grab rebounds and hit the three-ball consistently.
Gorgui Dieng (C - Minnesota Timberwolves)
Season: 17.9 Minutes per Game
Week 11: 28.5 Minutes per Game
From the 2014-15 season to the 2016-17 season, Gorgui Dieng averaged 9.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, and shot 51.3% from the floor. He was quite a steady presence in fantasy basketball and was even considered a top-50 player in some preseasons. That level of performance had faded from many fantasy basketball manager's memory over the last two and a half years, but now Dieng is back and better than ever!
Karl-Anthony Towns has missed 10 games with a knee injury and still does not have a definitive date to return. Over those 10 Towns-less games, Dieng is averaging a double-double with 13.7 points and 10.0 rebounds while hitting 42.2% of his three-point shots.
A lot of this will mean nothing if Towns returns sooner rather than later, but while Towns remains out Dieng is a must-roster and possibly a must-start player in all formats. The combination of points, rebounds, blocks, and ability to hit a few threes is a rare combination from a pure center in fantasy basketball. If you can't get him in your season-long leagues you can still get a piece of the action while starting him as a cheaper option in DFS formats.
