NBA Minutes Report: The impact of Devin Booker’s injury, Paolo Banchero’s return, more

Welcome to the Fantasy Basketball Minutes Report. Every week, I will review each team’s updated minutes per game to see which players are seeing the court more or less than in previous weeks. With this information in hand, I’ll try to discuss any relevant fantasy risers or fallers; players who we should be adding off waivers or removing from our teams.

The charts below are also great for exploring on your own. You can track the minutes over the last three, five, and ten games, and for the entire season, to see which trends stand out to you.

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All of this data was made accessible by Kyle Bland, who is incredibly talented and also incredibly generous, so make sure to give him a follow to check out all of his baseball data as well.

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Atlanta Hawks

Kristaps Porzingis made his return last week but then sat out on Saturday. It seems like he’s going to be monitored a bunch as he recovers from this illness. Trae Young also claims he will return in December, but we don’t know exactly when. With Young out, Nickeil Alexander-Walker has been tremendous and has been a top-40 player over the last two weeks, averaging 26.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.3 steals. The rest of the rotation has been rather consistent.

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Boston Celtics

The Celtics’ rotation has been pretty consistent for much of the season, despite, obviously, not having Jayson Tatum for perhaps all of the year. Neemias Queta has been quietly pretty good of late, averaging 13 points, 9 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.6 blocks over his last five games, which is a top-90 player. The Celtics are well-coached, so they will remain feisty, but this is really a three-man team with those top three guys.

Brooklyn Nets

Cam Thomas has been cleared for on-court work and could return to the lineup next week. That could shake things up, but, in the meantime, Michael Porter Jr. and Nic Claxton are carrying much of the load for the Nets. Brooklyn has now gotten three rookies into the rotation regularly with Danny Wolf, Ben Saraf, and Egor Dëmin. Wildly, Wolf has maybe been the best of late, averaging 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in his last six games. Who knows if he’ll remain in the rotation, but he should.

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Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets continue to battle injuries, with LaMelo Ball dealing with an ankle injury, Collin Sexton fighting a thigh injury, and Moussa Diabaté battling a knee injury. That has led to increased usage for Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges, both of whom have been top-100 players. There is little else to like here. Even without Diabaté in the last game, Ryan Kalkbrenner had six points and six rebounds with two blocks in 25 minutes.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls have really struggled of late, and injuries are certainly part of that. Tre Jones is battling an ankle injury, and Kevin Huerter has been fighting a hamstring injury since the start of the month. Isaac Okoro is close to returning from his back injury, and Jalen Smith could also be back soon from his hamstring injury. That could mean fewer minutes for Patrick Williams and Julian Phillips, but the only guys who have really been fantasy relevant are Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, Nikola Vučević, and Coby White, when he plays.

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Cleveland Cavaliers

Jarrett Allen, Max Strus, and Sam Merrill are all still battling injuries but could return this weekend or next week. In Allen’s absence, Evan Mobley has been tremendous, averaging 19.7 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.0 blocks over his last six. He can be a real force, but the Cavaliers will need some consistency from him. With Darius Garland still battling this toe injury, Jaylon Tyson has gotten extra run as well and been a top-80 player over the last two weeks. Whenever he gets a chance to start, he’s been really strong.

Dallas Mavericks

Dallas got news on Wednesday that Dereck Lively II will be out for the remainder of the season after undergoing foot surgery. I recorded a video explaining what could do to the frontcourt rotation, while the backcourt rotation has been that Ryan Nembhard has taken on a larger role as the primary point guard, averaging 14.8 points, 6.8 assists, and 2.5 rebounds over his last six games. That’s good for top-90 value over the last two weeks, and he’s worth a spot on your bench.

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Denver Nuggets

Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun continue to battle injuries, and both will likely be out until the middle of January. We have seen the rotation kind of settle in the meantime. Peyton Watson has stepped into a larger role, as has Tim Hardaway Jr., but the fantasy value hasn’t quite been there for these guys consistently. Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray are just good enough to carry this team.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons are at full strength now, which has led to an extended rotation that doesn’t seem sustainable. I covered that in a video last week, and not much has changed. We have seen an uptick in production from Ausar Thompson’s fantasy value, especially after Tobias Harris missed the last game with an ankle injury. Still, over his last three, Thompson is averaging 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists, and 1.3 steals, and was a top 84 player. He needs to keep that going.

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Golden State Warriors

All of Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and Al Horford are battling injuries and could return as early as this weekend. Even with all that happening, Jonathan Kuminga got a DNP-Coach’s Decision last week, so you have to think the Warriors are going to find a way to trade him. Over the last week, Pat Spencer has become one of the best stories in the NBA. He went from number one overall pick in the lacrosse draft to trash-talking bench guard in the NBA and has been a top-60 player in fantasy over the last week. That’s not going to continue when the veterans come back, but it’s a fun story.

Houston Rockets

With Alperen Sengun battling an illness last week and Steven Adams fighting an ankle issue, Clint Capela saw an uptick in minutes, but not much has changed in this rotation. Sengun, Kevin Durant, and Amen Thompson are studs, and Reed Sheppard has cemented himself as a top-100 player over he last few weeks. Beyond that, there are a lot of guys playing around 15-20 minutes per night.

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Indiana Pacers

Jay Huff has become a real consistent player in the rotation and has been a top-100 player over the last two weeks. Ethan Thompson has also started the last two games, and while I don’t think it’ll last, he’s at least a name to monitor if he becomes a more consistent member of this rotation. T.J. McConnell is also back down just under 17 minutes per game, which has sapped some of his fantasy value. It’s just a down year for the Pacers.

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Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers team doesn’t have a lot going for it right now. James Harden became the 10th-highest-scoring player in NBA history, but there’s not much more happening. Bogdan Bogdanović came back over the weekend after missing almost 10 games with a hip injury. Jordan Miller has been battling a back injury, but could return next week. Still, this team is just Harden, Ivica Zubac, and Kawhi Leonard.

Los Angeles Lakers

Now that the Lakers are healthy, their lineup and rotation have been pretty consistent. DeAndre Ayton has remained a top 100 player since the three studs have been back, but he’s now closer to 100. The rest of the offensive load is carried almost entirely by the three headliners in this lineup.

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Memphis Grizzlies

It seems that Ja Morant will return as early as this weekend, which could shake up this Grizzlies’ rotation. In his stead, Zach Edey has taken on a much larger role in the offense, averaging 16.5 points, 14 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, and 1.2 assists over his last six games. Cam Spencer has also emerged, not letting his brother have all the fun. Spencer is averaging 14.5 points, 5.5 assists, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals over his last two weeks, which is a top-100 player. It remains to be seen if he can do that with Ja Morant back, but Jaren Jackson Jr. has also fallen back a bit, barely a top-100 player over his last six games and has been ranked 84th on the season, which is a big step down for him.

Miami Heat

Miami is pretty healthy right now, other than Pelle Larsson battling an ankle injury. Still, his minutes were shrinking with Norman Powell and Tyler Herro back. We should also talk about Herro’s fit in this new Heat offense, which has been less than ideal. Sure, Herro is still putting up points, but he doesn’t seem fully comfortable in this new fast-paced motion offense, and his assist totals are pretty drastically down from years past. That will impact his overall fantasy value. But Powell has just been flat-out better, and I’m not sure that’s going to change. The Heat also tried to start Kel’el Ware and Bam Adebayo next to each other, but that doesn’t seem to be working.

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Milwaukee Bucks

With Giannis Antetokounmpo out, this has kind og become Kevin Porter Jr’s offense. He’s averaging 27 points, 6.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.8 steals over his last four games while playing over 30 minutes in each one. He needs to be added everywhere. Ryan Rollins has also continued to produce with Giannis out, and Bobby Portis has seen an uptick in usage, which has made him a top-100 player in fantasy since the injury. Jericho Sims is playing more minutes, but he’s not doing mich with them right now, and I’m kind of shocked that he’s playing more minutes than Myles Turner.

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Timberwolves may be the healthiest and most consistent lineup in the NBA right now. It’s been basically the same guys playing the same allotment of minutes all season, except for a handful of games where Anthony Edwards has missed.

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New Orleans Pelicans

The injury to Zion Williamson opened up opportunities for Derik Queen, which I covered in a video after his triple-double. We also saw Herbert Jones finally return to the court and score 17 points with six rebounds, four assists, and four steals in 26 minutes. His minutes should tick up as the weeks go on, so he is a name to monitor. Saddiq Bey has also been a top-75 player over the last two weeks, posting 20 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 34 minutes per game, but you have to wonder if Jones’ being back cuts into that.

New York Knicks

The Knicks have moved Josh Hart back into the starting lineup, where he has thrived, and left him there with OG Anunoby back. I covered that decision in an article earlier this week. I also recorded a video talking about Anunoby’s play and the ripple effects of his return, so you can check that out here.

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Oklahoma City Thunder

Isaiah Hartenstein should be back next week as he battled a calf injury, and Cason Wallace is day-to-day after Wednesday’s game against the Suns, so we’ll need to keep an eye on that. Otherwise, this is a dominant team with a deep rotation that I covered last week. Lately, only Shai, Chet, and Jalen Williams have been fantasy-viable, but we’ll see what happens when Hartenstein returns.

Orlando Magic

Paolo Banchero returned, but Franz Wagner got hurt almost immediately after. Wagner should be out up to a month with an ankle injury, which is relatively good news based on how the injury looked. I covered the ripple effects of the Wagner injury here, and also discussed Banchero’s great game on Tuesday.

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Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers have been relatively healthy for the last week, and are getting both Paul George and Joel Embiid in the lineup more regularly. That has led to far less work for rookie VJ Edgecombe, who is averaging just 10.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.4 steals over the last two weeks. Meanwhile, Quentin Grimes has actually remained a top-60 player in fantasy during that stretch, in part because of his ability to space the floor. Embiid and George remain top-100 players in fantasy, but it’s hard to see them consistently rising inside the top 50 as they used to, unless we get an insane run of health and usage.

Phoenix Suns

Devin Booker injured his groin last week and will be out until at least the end of next week. I recorded a video last week covering what the fallout of that would be, but it’s good news for Collin Gillespie. We’ve also seen Mark Williams step into a larger role and really deliver of late, putting up 13.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game over his last five.

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Portland Trail Blazers

Jrue Holiday remains out, Donovan Clingan has battled a leg injury, and Scoot Henderson will be out til the end of December, so that has led to more minutes for guys like Kris Murray and also Robert Williams III. Sadly, Williams III is now dealing with an illness, which could keep him out a game or two; he’s been really solid when he has played. Deni Avdija remains a legit star and a should-be All-Star, and Jerami Grant has been a top-50 player over the last two weeks. They and Shaedon Sharpe are carrying this team from a production level.

Sacramento Kings

Dennis Schroeder has been out with a hip injury, and Domantas Sabonis will be out for around a month with a knee injury, which I covered all the repercussions of that in a video here. Zach LaVine is also out on Thursday with a thumb injury, so we’ll need to see if that persists. That has left Russell Westbrook to carry a major load for the offense, and he’s been a top-15 player in fantasy over the last two weeks. Keegan Murray has also been solid since he’s been back, but there’s not a lot to like here.

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San Antonio Spurs

Dylan Harper returned from injury late last week, and Stephon Castle returned earlier this week, so we’ve now finally seen the Spurs with all three of their guards healthy. Castle has come back to a role of about 25 minutes per game, but we’ll see if that increases, especially since he was lights out on Wednesday, posting 30 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. Dylan Harper was great on Monday, but played just 20 minutes on Wednesday with 13 points, three rebounds, three assists, and one steal. De’Aaron Fox may remain the most consistent of the three, with Castle and Harper mixing in good nights depending on the matchup. Of course, Victor Wembanyama is still out, so we can’t be quite sure how the usage will change when he returns, which could be as early as this weekend. Devin Vassell has seen his usage drop considerably with all guards healthy, and you have to imagine that drops even more when Wemby comes back.

Toronto Raptors

Brandon Ingram has been on a heater of late, which I covered in a video this week where I also discuss the impact of RJ Barrett‘s knee injury and Immanuel Quickley’s illness on the playing time for guys like Jamal Shead. Those are the only real names to know here, other than Scottie Barnes continuing to play tremendous basketball and Jakob Poeltl continuing to see a minutes restriction due to a back injury.

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Utah Jazz

Lauri Markkanen missed some time with an illness, and Jusuf Nurkić had been battling a rib injury, which has led to a few more minutes for Kyle Filipowski. He’s averaging 13 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game over the last two weeks, and has been a top-100 player. That’s really all there is to say about Utah. Although, I did write about Keyonte George as one of the biggest surprises of the early season.

Washington Wizards

Corey Kispert is out until potentially the end of the month with a fractured thumb, and we might not see Bilal Coulibaly until January with an oblique injury. Alex Sarr is also battling a thigh injury, and Khris Middleton continues to deal with a knee issue, so this team is really banged up. That has led to lots of minutes for other players, but nobody is really delivering other than Kyshawn George and CJ McCollom.