RADIO
Welcome to Rotation Watch, Rotoballers! Each week, this article will highlight the players that are gaining minutes in their team's rotation. Fantasy managers want to roster the players that are accumulating stats and racking up the playing time. They want to avoid the players falling out of favor and watching the action from the sidelines.
Somehow, the All-Star break is already here on our NBA calendars. While teams have been grinding through the first half of the season, there are many players in need of the rest coming up this weekend. Hopefully, this will reset some rotations and get some of the regulars back into our fantasy basketball lineups.
So without further ado, let's start searching those box scores from Feb. 22 to Feb. 28 and look for those hidden gems that grabbed minutes to help your fantasy basketball team achieve the ultimate prize: a championship. These suggestions are the cream of the crop, and if you ever need an extra slice of advice, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @EuanOrYouOut, and I'll happily talk about some fantasy basketball with everyone.
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NBA Playing Time Changes
Immanuel Quickley - PG, New York Knicks
Season: 18.6 Minutes per Game
Week 10: 15.7 Minutes per Game
I feel like I'll need to rename this column "Immanuel Quickley's Rotation Watch" if Head Coach Tom Thibodeaux and the New York Knicks continue playing with their rookie's minutes. They are consistently inconsistent, and it's driving fantasy managers insane. It's 25 minutes one night and then nine the next. Let the rookie play! Nothing illustrates this point more than the four games Quickley played in Week 10.
Across the quartet of contests, the 21-year old averaged 12.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, one assist, two threes, and four trips to the free-throw line per game. The rookie played less than 16 minutes in three of those contests, but he was spectacular in the one game he crossed the 20-minute mark. Quickley played 21 minutes versus the Sacramento Kings last Friday (Feb. 25) and erupted for 25 points, three assists, two steals, and three triples. We would love to see those assist numbers elevate slightly, but the rookie flashes his potential almost every chance he gets. As of March 3, the New York Knicks are in the playoffs, and they will need to allow their best playmakers to play if they want to keep it that way when the playoffs roll around this summer.
De'Anthony Melton - PG/SG, Memphis Grizzlies
Season: 20.4 Minutes per Game
Week 10: 16.4 Minutes per Game
Last season, it seemed like there was always a Brooklyn Nets guard in this column. Kyrie Irving, Caris Levert, and Spencer Dinwiddie were always in and out of the lineup, and it created a lot of chances for them and their teammates to receive a fantasy-basketball boost. The Memphis Grizzlies is the leader in the clubhouse to be the 2021 version of the Nets. Every week they have something new pop up, and then they have the depth to replace it. It's quite a remarkable turnaround for a team that picked second in the 2019 NBA Draft.
This week's Grizzlies guard is De'Anthony Melton. In his last two games of Week 10, the third-year guard averaged 15 points, 3.5 assists, three rebounds, two steals, and 1.5 threes in 23.2 minutes. With the rate that the Grizzlies get healthy and then drop like flies, Melton is worth keeping an eye on in leagues that allow daily moves. The Grizzlies play the 12th-fastest pace in the league, and that should continue as all their stars come back. Check their injury report before each game, and you could fall into a productive fantasy evening from Melton and many others.
Lonnie Walker IV - SG/SF, San Antonio Spurs
Season: 27.4 Minutes per Game
Week 10: 30.8 Minutes per Game
San Antonio's injury report is still one of the longer ones in the league after their bout with COVID-19 and the medical protocols. In the four games since the Spurs returned on Feb. 24, Walker is averaging 32.2 minutes and providing managers with stats across the box score. His 14.8 points, 3.3 boards, 2.8 assists, and 2.8 threes equal a top-150 player value in nine-category leagues over the last week. These aren't win-your-week type numbers, but every little bit helps, and the 22-year old is available in 77 percent of Yahoo leagues. However, this could be a flash in the pan, and fantasy managers could be chasing fools gold with Walker.
Derrick White, Rudy Gay, Devin Vassell, and Keldon Johnson will all return to the rotation after the All-Star break, and it's going to fracture the Spurs statistics even further than their deep roster already does. While Walker has been useful across Week 10 and 11, he's better left on the waiver wire until there's another injury in San Antonio's backcourt.
Bogdan Bogdanovic - SG/SF/PF, Atlanta Hawks
Season: 23.7 Minutes per Game
Week 10: N/A
Bogdanovic was out since Jan. 9 and made his return last night. After missing 25 games of a 72-game season, it will be tough for him to get back into game shape immediately, but he is worth a stash if you have the space for the fantasy basketball playoffs.
Bogi back. pic.twitter.com/IZ4DAa4N6d
— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) March 3, 2021
It should be mentioned that the Hawks were not running Bogdanovic into the ground before his injury, so it will be interesting to watch his playing time situation develop. In his return on Tuesday, he scored five points (all in the fourth quarter) with four assists. The Serbian just signed a four-year deal with the Hawks this past offseason, and I'm sure they will be eager to get him back on the floor and contributing to the team regularly before too long.
Markieff Morris - PF/C, Los Angeles Lakers
Season: 15.2 Minutes per Game
Week 10: 23.8 Minutes per Game
Anthony Davis (calf) isn't returning to the Los Angeles Lakers lineup anytime soon. Without a second superstar, it's unreasonable (although he's trying) to expect LeBron James to carry this entire team by himself. With a giant hole left to fill in the frontcourt, there's been an opportunity for another Lakers player to grab his chance. In Week 10, that guy was Markieff Morris. He averaged 23.8 minutes per contest and fringey top-200 value in nine-category leagues. The veteran forward provided 12 rebounds and nine rebounds versus the Utah Jazz. Then, he closed the week with 13 points, eight rebounds, and four assists against the Golden State Warriors.
Morris is rostered in six percent of Yahoo leagues, and I'm not recommending him in 10 or 12-team leagues. However, he provides some incredibly cheap numbers on a team that will be in a lot of close games without their second superstar for the foreseeable future. If nothing else, he's an excellent insurance policy for Montrezl Harrell should his increased workload take its toll on the 27-year old. If you play in a daily moves league, Morris is a perfect streaming candidate when the Lakers take on a weak frontcourt.
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