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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.
This week is the final Rotation Watch of the year, and I want to thank everyone for reading along during this crazy season. I am super grateful that we got an entire year of this article in the books after last year's hiatus, and it was fantastic to have some fantasy basketball back in our lives and see it through until the end of the year. If you are reading this, it means you are in an intense battle for your championship! Therefore, congratulations and good luck are in order. Win that title!
So without further ado, let's start searching those box scores from May 3 to May 9 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.
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including NBA Writer of the Year, Best NFL Series, MLB Series, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!
NBA Playing Time Changes
Khyri Thomas - SG, Houston Rockets
Season: N/A
Week 19: 28.6 Minutes per Game
Thomas has come out of nowhere to take the fantasy basketball world by storm. He signed a 10-day contract with the Rockets on May 7 and hasn't looked back. While the Rockets have successfully tanked the season away, they still have a few games to see what's going on at the bottom of their roster. Thomas is taking full advantage of his shot and is blowing away every possible best-case scenario the team could've imagined when they added him last week. In three games, Thomas is averaging 28.6 minutes per night while producing 20.3 points on 51.3 percent shooting, along with 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.7 steals, 2.7 three-pointers, and a steal. Houston has three games remaining this season, and with the explosive performances from Thomas, it may just be enough to steal yourself a championship.
Dwayne Bacon - SG, Orlando Magic
Season: 25.9 Minutes per Game
Week 19: 27.2 Minutes per Game
It's pretty telling how slim the pickings are at the end of the season when Dwayne Bacon can lay claim to being the most well-known player in this article. He is getting all the run his heart could desire as the Magic try to pull one last trick in the 2021 season and grab a top chance at the No. 1 overall pick. Bacon is having his best season yet in his fourth year in the league, but he's ramping it up as the season comes to a close. Since the calendar turned the page to May, the 25-year old is averaging 19.6 points on 52 percent shooting while sprinkling in some numbers in the other counting categories. If you are playing some major catch-up in the points category, Bacon is going to be one of your best bets. He's on nine percent of Yahoo rosters and has three games over the final five days of the season to help out your squad.
Terence Davis - SG/SF, Sacramento Kings
With Toronto (34 games): 14.5 Minutes per Game
With Sacramento (23 games): 20.1 Minutes per Game
Week 19: 28.2 Minutes per Game
While Bacon is solely a points threat for fantasy, Terence Davis offers a little more well-rounded production for our lineups. He's been electric over the last seven days and is a top-65 player in nine-category formats. In four Week 19 games, the Mississippi-born man averaged 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 2.5 triples. The Kings are missing several key members to their rotation, and because they can no longer make the play-in tournament, I don't think De'Aaron Fox or Tyrese Haliburton will be returning for the final three games. Davis is averaging 13.5 shots per contest, and 7.5 of them are coming from behind the three-point line. His solid contributions in points, three-pointers, and even steals make him worth a final week flyer should you need someone to save the day (and your fantasy season) over the last five days.
Willy Hernangomez - C, New Orleans Pelicans
Season: 17.4 Minutes per Game
Week 19: 23.8 Minutes per Game
Zion Williamson (finger) and Steven Adams (toe) will sit the rest of the season, and it's going to give Hernangomez a lot of court time to end the 2021 campaign. The Spaniard is already coming alive and is posting useful fantasy numbers to those managers who need a boost down the stretch. He's started seven of the last eight games, and over that stretch, the 26-year old is averaging 11.1 points on 56.3 percent shooting, 9.6 rebounds, and 1.3 steals. If you're in a league that counts double-doubles as a stat (trust me, there are a lot of them), Hernangomez is helping you there as well. He's totaled nine this season, and three have come in his last eight games. He also exploded for 16 rebounds on May 9 against the Hornets. It's going to be nerve-wracking stuff, but Willy may have what it takes to push you over the finish line as the season comes to an end on Sunday.
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