Fantasy Basketball Sleepers, Buy/Sell: Rotation Watch and Minute Trends for Week 5

Welcome to the third edition of RotoBaller's NBA Minutes Watch. Now that we are around a month into the season, depth charts have become stabilized and teams are slowly implementing what works. Although it's still early, this is the first time where we see real instances of true regular-season basketball, completely separate from the dramatics of the first few weeks.

Rotations are already shrinking in some cases while other teams are fighting the uphill battle of both rebuilding and trying to win games. For many of these teams, the current rotations are pointless and subject to change on a whim so be cautious.

We still have a long way to go, but with 82% of the season still left to play, we are just hitting the tip of the iceberg when it comes to NBA mis-season developments.

Atlanta Hawks

Buy: Keaton Wallace, Zaccharie Risacher

Sell: None.

The Hawks have a very small margin of victory in their wins. Younger players have stepped up to help keep the Hawks competitive in every game, but their superstars falling short has led to too-close-of games and tough losses.

Garrison Matthews and Zaccharie Risacher continue to get a majority of the bench minutes, but Keaton Wallace and Vit Krejci are slowly carving out a role and creating a solid second unit. It’s looking like the bench unit is going to be the jumpstarter for this team’s engine for the short term.

Boston Celtics

Buy: Neemias Queta, Luke Kornet

Sell: None.

Another solid season coming to fruition through depth. Celtics bench players are showing up early with Neemias Queta and Luke Kornet showing increased involvement without sacrificing overall team efficiency. This should continue much like it did last season.

Brooklyn Nets

Buy: Dorian Finney-Smith, Keon Johnson

Sell: None.

No wins over good teams and Brooklyn’s best players losing their early season efficiency leads to clearing the way for role players and bench players with potential. Dorian Finney-Smith is currently the one surging with Keon Johnson showing promise off the bench. Outside of the core rotation, it gets very…shakey.

Charlotte Hornets

Buy: Brandon Miller

Sell: None.

Potential drama with the benching of LaMelo Ball, but ultimately just early season team-building and nothing major. Charlotte is trying to implement a winning strategy and they need Ball to be on board to do so. Brandon Miller is playing extremely well and Moussa Diabate is proving value off the bench, so really it’s just another case of the starters leaving the door open for reserves to produce and only a few capitalizing.

Chicago Bulls

Buy: Torrey Craig

Sell: None.

The Bulls are looking for a stronger frontcourt presence and it has opened up room for hybrid forwards like Torrey Craig, Dalen Terry, and Talen Horton-Tucker to create production on the defensive end.

It’s not a great defensive strategy, but it’s the only one Chicago has and they have no choice but to roll out the only rotation they have. The production will still heavily favor starters or whoever is getting minutes that night.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Buy: Ty Jerome, Isaac Okoro

Sell: None

Young players filling roles on both sides of the ball and hitting shots have led the Cavaliers to an incredibly hot start. Ty Jerome, Isaac Okoro, and Georges Niang have all been three of the better bench options across the league and seemingly developed overnight. To make the entire situation better, Sam Merrill and Dean Wade haven’t shown up this season, so when that finally happens, the Cavaliers are in store for another big jump.

Dallas Mavericks

Buy: Naji Marshall

Sell: None.

The Mavericks are trying to lock in their defense and that starts with Naji Marshall. Versatile defending is his calling card and both Quentin Grimes and Jaden Hardy are slowly becoming the Mavericks' top bench threats. All three will continue to learn and grow within the Mavericks system, but the Dallas starters need to pick it up on their end.

Denver Nuggets

Buy: Peyton Watson

Sell: None.

The Aaron Gordon injury has opened up a ton of minutes for Peyton Watson and Dario Saric. Julian Strawther also saw an uptick in minutes, but Watson and Saric both bring something specifically valuable to the table. Watson is an underrated defender and Saric’s offense is hard to stop once he gets rolling, literally. Hunter Tyson, Zeke Nnaji, and Vlatko Cancar all see extra minutes as well, but not enough to make them relevant.

Detroit Pistons

Buy: Cade Cunningham

Sell: Jalen Duren

Most Blocks Among Guards So Far In The 2024-25 NBA Regular Season :

1. Jalen Suggs — 18
1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — 18
3. Derrick White — 17
4. Cade Cunningham — 15
4. James Harden — 15
6. Anthony Black — 14
6. Dyson… https://t.co/81h7whDPCq pic.twitter.com/eQEH98xnpf

— Stat Defender (@statdefender) November 21, 2024

The Pistons are unbelievably in a great spot, but their biggest concern is a lack of a defensive big. Jalen Duren puts up monster stat lines, but his ‘Swiss-cheese’ style of defense can’t be picked up from looking at the box score. Detroit will continue to put out whatever works each night and it seems to be working. The rotations are unpredictable outside of the core so minutes here are likely to keep changing.

Golden State Warriors

Buy: Gui Santos, Pat Spencer, Gary Payton II

Sell: None.

With De’Anthony Melton out for the season, players like Pat Spencer, Gui Santos, and Gary Payton II are about to see huge upticks in minutes and usage. The Warriors offense doesn’t waver and all three are likely to post at least one worthwhile game in the upcoming weeks. This should also be a great chance for Moses Moody to reclaim some of the momentum he had before the Warriors benched him.

Houston Rockets

Buy: Tari Eason, Amen Thompson

Sell: None

Young teams are fairly easy to gauge because we know where the minutes should be going. Whether those players produce is an entirely different question, but this Rockets team has a solid rotation and it’s not going to change.

They don’t have a prominent defensive anchor, but Amen Thompson is the next best thing. As long as Tari Eason keeps playing at the same level, we should see both Alperen Sengun and Fred VanVleet’s stats rise in response.

Indiana Pacers

Buy: Jarace Walker

Sell: None.

Early season rotations are unpredictable, but most teams like the Pacers have a good feel of how they want their team to run. Indiana does a great job involving younger players and the injuries to Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith will open up the door for Ben Sheppard, T.J. McConnell, and Quenton Jackson to see more minutes. Jackson is the obvious toss-up here, but he seemingly getting better every game.

Los Angeles Clippers

Buy: Amir Coffey

Sell: None.

The Clippers rotation is firmly cemented and it’s pretty easy to see why. Veterans across the board and athletic youngsters to fill in the gaps. It works for the time being and it should work for the near future, one pivotal injury, and the wheels could easily fall right off. James Harden alone will get you places, but it’s not by any means a long-term winning strategy.

Los Angeles Lakers

Buy: Dalton Knecht

Sell: D'Angelo Russell

Dalton Knecht has taken the league by storm and rightfully so. You don’t put up those numbers without the league taking notice and a lot of his production comes directly from his scoring ability. He makes the game easier for his teammates and looking at the Lakers rotation, Knecht hitting shots allows for other younger players to see minutes and much-needed development.

Sit back and enjoy 81 seconds of rookie Dalton Knecht being the hottest shooter alive

pic.twitter.com/HNAbBl0nvJ

— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) November 20, 2024

Memphis Grizzlies

Buy: Zach Edey, Ja Morant

Sell: None

Memphis has reestablished a culture in their basketball team and it’s powered by youthful energy and raw power. Zach Edey, Marcus Smart, and Brandon Clarke push the issue on strength, with Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and Santi Aldama leading the charge when it comes to high-flying and scoring. It’s a working combination and the Grizzlies are a dark horse playoff contender.

Miami Heat

Buy: Bam Adebayo

Sell: Jimmy Butler

Miami started this season off on the wrong foot, but just like every season they are slowly figuring things out. It all starts with Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, but from the way it seems, this might be the first time we have seen a noticeable decline from Butler. It may not be the end of an era, but it sure marks the beginning of the end and the Heat losing winnable games is a telltale sign that something has gone awry.

Milwaukee Bucks

Buy: AJ Green

Sell: None

Milwaukee has too much talent to be worried about and it seems they have found something in A.J. Green. With his main focus being defense, he has earned his spot on the court and his scoring has deserved him direct usage within the offense. Things should keep on this upward trajectory for Green and that should be alarming to the rest of the Eastern Conference.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Buy: Jaden McDaniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker

Sell: Joe Ingles

A nine-man rotation doesn’t bring up many changes or new things to be critically aware of. We know what the Timberwolves are doing each night and the only real surprises are Jaden McDaniels and Nickeil Alexander-Walker playing as well as they are. This is still not a serious development since both players improved drastically last season and were expected to improve this season as well.

New Orleans Pelicans

Buy: Brandon Boston Jr., Yves Missi

Sell: Jordan Hawkins

Brandon Boston Jr. and Yves Missi have to be two of the biggest out-of-nowhere developments this season. The Pelicans best players aren’t healthy currently and the reserves have continued without a hitch. Zion Williamson and Jose Alvarado will miss 11 more games, so Boston Jr., Trey Jemison, and Yves Missi will be the recipients of the most amount of usage and production in the frontcourt.

New York Knicks

Buy: Miles McBride

Sell: Ariel Hukporti

The Knicks bench is very divided in terms of who actually plays and who is a garbage-time player. Miles McBride and Cam Payne are the two top guys off the bench, but there’s a steep drop-off as we move further down the bench. Jacob Toppin is barely playable and both Jericho Sims and Ariel Hukporti are massive liabilities once they got on the court. Similar to the Timberwolves, the Knicks rotation is solid.

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Oklahoma City Thunder

Buy: Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein

Sell: None.

The Thunder have everything going for them and it’s been a full-team effort. Every player has bought into the culture and when that happens, even the end of the bench tends to see valuable minutes.

Chet Holmgren missing the next couple of months but Isaiah Hartenstein made his return last night and showed no sign of rust. He should stack up double-doubles while Chet is out and we will have to wait and see how the Thunder decide to adjust the rotation now, but they have shown that they like playing a lot of guys so far.

Orlando Magic

Buy: Jalen Suggs, Goga Bitadze

Sell: None.

The Magic with and without Paolo Banchero are two totally different teams. Everything needed to be adjusted to playing without Banchero and much of that has been the reason Goga Bitadze moved up almost 200 spots in overall player ranking according to BasketballMonster.com.

Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, and Anthony Black will champion the offense for the time being, but none of those three players can make up for what they lost with losing Banchero. The X-factor here is whether or not Jonathan Isaac can stay healthy and maximize the effectiveness of this defense.

Philadelphia 76ers

Buy: Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain

Sell: None.

After the Tyrese Maxey-Joel Embiid confrontation behind us, it’ll be interesting to see the direction this team is headed. Everyone knows Joel Embiid is not the winning strategy despite his skill, while Maxey has proved himself to be a winning type of player.

The ball doesn’t stop at him and he doesn’t just decide to take over the offense because he’s Tyrese Maxey. Embiid is the best scorer on the team, but this team is heading in a new direction whether Embiid likes it or not. He had his time and now the young guns are coming out pistols blazing. Jared McCain is in for a huge year.

Phoenix Suns

Buy: Devin Booker

Sell: Bradley Beal

The Suns are easily one of the most disappointing teams in the league. A seemingly never-ending supply of talent that just can’t seem to figure it out. Whether it was the decision to go with Jusuf Nurkic as the paint threat or whether it was investing in an aging Big Three, Phoenix has no choice but to hope Royce O’Neale, Tyus Jones, and….Grayson Allen?....are the ones that can help right the ship.

Portland Trail Blazers

Buy: Toumani Camara, Dalano Banton

Sell: None.

With young teams, it’s better to just go with what the numbers tell you. The Portland rotation is fairly widespread, but their usage funnels down to the same two or three players. Jerami Grant is the head of the totem pole, Anfernee Simons is the number one backcourt option, and Deni Avdija’s playmaking is a solid support as the third option. After that, if Scoot Henderson is having a good game he tends to see more usage, while Toumani Camara and Dalano Banton have shot up the player ranks. Still a tough team to gauge, but we are starting to see the pecking order come through more clearly every night.

Sacramento Kings

Buy: Keon Ellis, Jordan McLaughlin

Sell: NONE

Many of these teams didn’t make drastic changes to their core so a lot of the minute distribution makes sense. The Kings added DeMar DeRozan, but Sacramento was missing a key scorer in the middle of their lineup. DeRozan filled a much-needed void and now the Kings rotation is extremely balanced. They don’t get a ton of young payers on the court, but Keegan Murray and Keon Ellis have already made names for themselves and should only continue to get better as the season progresses.

San Antonio Spurs

Buy: Chris Paul, Stephon Castle

Sell: Zach Collins

No Victor Wembanyama and no Jeremy Sochan means Chris Paul is about to see a massive boost to his overall production. The Spurs are usually filled with no-name players anyway, but with Chris Paul leading the offense, expect them all to be heavily involved in one way or another.

The only Spurs’ rookies with 50+ AST in the first 15 games of the season since 2000:

— Tony Parker
— Stephon Castle

Franchise PGs. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/LB0NE0hhV2

— SpursMuse (@spurs_muse) November 21, 2024

There’s no telling what will happen from game to game, but generally speaking, Paul and Keldon Johnson are going to be the one-two punch for the future short-term.

Toronto Raptors

Buy: Ochai Agbaji, Gradey Dick

Sell: Jonathan Mogbo

Until something happens this team looks abysmal. Nothing against Gradey Dick, but he cannot be your go-to guy and expect to be a winning team. His scoring is phenomenal, but as we see happening with Luka Doncic in Dallas, defense is just as important. There is no defensive presence anywhere outside of Jakob Poeltl and this should force Chris Boucher into a more demanding defensive role. Whether or not he capitalizes on the extra minutes is up to him, but we can be sure that he will see a few more blocks and three-pointers as long as he is getting minutes.

Utah Jazz

Buy: Kyle Filipowski

Sell: None.

The Jazz have their rotation figured out. Kyle Filipowski will be a major bench factor and the starters will do most of the heavy lifting each night. We can see where the rotation foundation lays, but once we move beyond Jordan Clarkson, the bench efficiency takes a dive and very few players are playing positively with their minutes. It’ll change as things develop, but for now, the Jazz have a solidified albeit weak rotation.

Washington Wizards

Buy: Bilal Coulibaly, Jordan Poole

Sell: None.

Bad teams are bad teams and that’s all there is to it. The Wizards have no choice but to play a weird rotation of young players and proven starters because they aren’t exactly competing with the rest of the league. They are clearly behind and this season will be another tanking season where we have to pretend like they care for these first few months. Luckily, Jordan Poole and Bilal Coulibaly are still in the top 100 players when it comes to fantasy value, so at least there’s that.

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