NBA Minutes Report: Tyler Kolek emerges, Ivica Zubac gets hurt, 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 extremely generous. Be sure to follow him to check out all of his baseball data as well.

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Ware had an outstanding Week 9, culminating with a 28-point, 19-rebound effort against the Knicks.

Atlanta Hawks

Trae Young is back, but has that actually been a good thing for this team? The Hawks’ offense was kind of flowing without him, and the defense has taken a real step back with Young on the court. Fantasy managers don’t care about that, but Nickeil Alexander-Walker has seen his usage take a big hit, and this team isn’t playing as well of late.

Boston Celtics

As we’ve seen all season, the fringes of the Celtics’ rotation (apart from White, Brown, and Pritchard) continue to change, with Hugo Gonzalez and Luka Garza getting increased minutes. Jordan Walsh has been battling an illness recently, but over the last two weeks, Gonzalez and Garza have been the two biggest contributors on the fringe of the rotation as the Celtics have looked to play a little bigger. Neemias Queta is still seeing some minutes, but Sam Hauser and Josh Minott are seeing their minutes decline.

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Brooklyn Nets

Don’t look now, but the Nets are playing some feisty basketball. They’ve won three of their last four games and six of their last nine, and their defense has been tremendous. Offensively, this team is still basically driven by Michael Porter Jr. and Nic Claxton, but Egor Dëmin is emerging as a little bit more of a consistent threat, averaging 14 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.2 steals over his last five games, which is a top-150 player. This still isn’t a really good team, but they’re playing hard.

Charlotte Hornets

LaMelo Ball continues to be in and out of the lineup, and both Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kalkbrenner have been battling day-to-day injuries, which has meant extra minutes for Moussa Diabaté. Diabaté hasn’t done a ton with the minutes, but he is averaging 11.7 rebounds and 2.3 steals over the last three games with Kalkbrenner out, so the defensive value has been great. It won’t help fantasy managers too much, but it makes him a valuable player in the Hornets’ rotation. Collin Sexton also missed seven games with a quad injury and returned earlier this week to play 20 minutes against the Wizards, so we should expect those minutes to tick up soon.

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Chicago Bulls

The Bulls are finally healthy with only one player on their entire injury report. Of course, that has led to a confusing rotation behind Josh Giddey, Coby White, and Nikola Vučević. Matas Buzelis continues to be the most intriguing player of the rest of the roster, and he has looked good in his last three games, but he needs to find more consistency. Kevin Huerter is also averaging 13 points and 4.3 rebounds in his last three games and has taken a lot of minutes from Ayo Dosunmu, who also continues to play through multiple hand injuries.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Evan Mobley made his return after only missing five games with a calf injury that was allegedly supposed to have sidelined him for up to four weeks. Jarrett Allen went back to playing 23 minutes with Mobley back and scored seven points with eight rebounds. Thomas Bryant basically fell out of the rotation with only three minutes played. It’s back to the status quo for the Cavs.

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Dallas Mavericks

Anthony Davis continues to battle injuries and just left Thursday’s game with a groin injury. As we’ve come to see, a Davis injury will mean more minutes and usage for P.J. Washington and Naji Marshall and would likely also mean more run for Daniel Gafford, who hasn’t played over 17 minutes in any of the six games since being back from injury. Ryan Nembhard‘s play has also really fallen off of late, and we saw Brandon Williams play 30 minutes and score 26 points on Thursday, so this might be an ugly hot hand situation for a while.

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets could be getting Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun back as early as next week, and they need them because Cameron Johnson is now going to be sidelined for a month with a knee injury. Without him, Bruce Brown figures to take on a big of a bigger role, and Tim Hardaway Jr. should see his usage continue to increase. He’s averaging 17.8 points and 2.8 rebounds over the last four games, but he doesn’t contribute much else

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Detroit Pistons

There are too many players in this rotation. Yes, it’s great to have a deep team, and the Pistons remain at the top of the Eastern Conference, but this is a ship driven by Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren and then a rotation of guys who step up in different games. That might change if Ausar Thompson could develop some consistency, but this feels like a team that could make a consolidation trade to move on from somebody like Jaden Ivey, who barely plays, and some other pieces to add a bigger offensive force that can help them win a title.

Golden State Warriors

Draymond Green‘s minutes are down because he stormed off the court in the third quarter on Monday. I mean, not really, but also kind of. Green simply isn’t the player that he used to be, and he’s not impacting the game in as meaningful a way. You have to wonder if the team would be better off if some of his minutes went to Brandin Podziemski or Al Horford, who just came back from injury.

Houston Rockets

Can we just take a minute to acknowledge that Clint Capela has somehow become a player who plays just seven minutes a game? Jabari Smith Jr. is back to being a top-100 player in fantasy basketball over the last two weeks, averaging 16.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. Tari Eason also returned from injury and has seen his minutes tick up due to his strong defensive value. He played 26 minutes on Christmas against the Lakers, and that has relegated Josh Okogie to a much smaller role.

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Indiana Pacers

This Pacers rotation has been pretty consistent for the last few weeks. They are working around injuries to Ben Sheppard and Isaiah Jackson, but neither player was playing huge minutes. T.J. McConnell has gone on one of his runs where he’s playing really solid basketball, and is a top-100 player in fantasy leagues over the last two weeks, but he’s still seeing under 20 minutes per game, which makes it hard to trust him too much.

Fantasy Basketball Week 2 Injury Report: Luka Dončić, Anthony Edwards headline the list of sidelined stars

The Pacers, Lakers and Thunder are among the teams with lengthy injury reports at the halfway point of Week 2.

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Los Angeles Clippers

Ivica Zubac went down with an injury this week, and the Clippers will be without him until the middle of January. I covered the fallout in a video this week, but I think John Collins figures to benefit the most.

Los Angeles Lakers

Austin Reaves is hurt again, leaving the Lakers’ Christmas game with a calf injury. We don’t know how many games, if any, he’ll miss, but his absence previously has (obviously) led to more usage for LeBron James and Luka Dončić, who is back from his own brief absence with a leg injury. Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia would also likely benefit a little with increased playing time if Reaves were to miss games.

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Memphis Grizzlies

With Ja Morant sidelined again, Cam Spencer is enjoying a bit of a breakout, which I covered in a video this week, so check that out. Brandon Clarke also returned and then got hurt again, which led to an opportunity for GG Jackson, who returned from his own injury on Monday and then played 30 minutes on Tuesday, scoring 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds. He’s a name to keep an eye on.

Miami Heat

Tyler Herro is still out with his toe injury and is still trying to fit into this new-look Miami offense. I covered all of that in a video this week. In that time, Jaime Jaquez Jr. has stepped back into his larger role, but Kel’el Ware has also seen his role increase in a two-big-man look with Bam Adebayo. Ware has been a top-70 player in fantasy basketball over the last two weeks and deserves a bit more attention for how well he’s played.

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Milwaukee Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo remains out, and Gary Trent Jr. has played just 23 total minutes in the last two games as he battles a calf injury. In their stead, Kevin Porter Jr’s has been a top-15 player in fantasy basketball, and Ryan Rollins and Bobby Portis Jr. have both continued to play well in their expanded roles. They’re both top-100 players in fantasy basketball, but Myles Turner doesn’t seem to be doing much more with the bigger role, averaging just 13.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.0 assists over his last 5 games.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota has a pretty consolidated eight-man rotation, and little has changed. Bones Hyland has stepped into a slightly bigger role as a ball-handling scorer off the bench, and he might be better suited in that role than Mike Conley right now.

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New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans reportedly don’t want to trade Herbert Jones, but his ankle injury has kept him off the court and sapped some of his effectiveness. Derik Queen continues to be effective, even playing alongside Zion Williamson, and both have been top-80 players in fantasy basketball over the last two weeks. I would like to see more minutes for Jeremiah Fears, but Jordan Poole has seemed to cut into those.

New York Knicks

Tyler Kolek season is here, and I’m not sure it’s going anywhere. Deuce McBride is still managing an ankle injury, and Landry Shamet is out with a shoulder injury, so Kolek has stepped up and is averaging 10.7 points, 6.2 assists, and 4.8 rebounds over the last two weeks while playing crucial minutes at the end of games for the Knicks. At this point, the Knicks can’t take Kolek out of the rotation, so even when Deuce returns, it might be somebody like Jordan Clarkson who needs to lose more minutes.

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Oklahoma City Thunder

Isaiah Hartenstein came back from his calf injury last week, so we’ve actually seen the full Thunder roster for the first time all season. Turns out, it’s a roster that can’t beat the Spurs. I’m kidding, but the Spurs are playing tremendously well against the Thunder. The rotation has become pretty consistent, but it’s a matter of who emerges. Chet Holmgren has not been as effective in recent games, but Ajay Mitchell has stepped up and been a top 100 player in fantasy leagues over his last four games.

Orlando Magic

Orlando’s rotation has become consolidated thanks to injuries to Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, and Tristan Da Silva. In that time, Desmond Bane has taken on a much larger role, averaging 198 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.8 blocks, which makes him a top 40 player. Anthony Black has also stepped into a much larger role and has been highly efficient for the Magic as well. We’ve also seen Noah Penda take on a bigger role now that he’s up from the G-League. I don’t expect that to last too long, but it’s been fun to see.

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Philadelphia 76ers

Joel Embiid survived a bit of an injury scare earlier this week, but seems ot have survived it. Quentin Grimes has seen his minutes decrease in the last two games, but he has also been battling an illness, so it might be connected to that. The 76ers continue to hum because of their young guards and a resurgent season from Paul George, who is averaging 16.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.6 steals per game in 12 games. Also, it’s pretty fun that Dominick Barlow is playing such a big role on a two-way deal.

Phoenix Suns

Grayson Allen is battling a knee injury, but it doesn’t sound too serious. Jalen Green is also expected back in the first week of January, so this Suns team could be getting healthy soon. Collin Gillespie has also remained tremendously valuable even with Devin Booker back, but it remains to be seen if that would continue with both Allen and Green back too.

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Portland Trail Blazers

Jrue Holiday is still out, and now Jerami Grant has missed the last three games with an Achilles injury. In those three games, Donovan Clingan and Shaedon Sharpe have taken on larger usage roles. Those two guys, along with Deni Avdija, have all been top-60 players in that span, but Grant doesn’t figure to be out for too much longer.

Sacramento Kings

Zach LaVine remains out with an ankle injury but could return early next week. Keegan Murray also suffered a calf injury earlier this week, so we’re still awaiting news on how long he will be out. Russell Westbrook continues to take on a large usage role with LaVine out and will do so for the foreseeable future. We have also seen Maxime Raynaud emerge of late, averaging 14.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists over the last two weeks, which has made him a top 100 player in fantasy leagues.

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San Antonio Spurs

Victor Wembanyama is back but still on a bit of a minutes restriction. Nevertheless, the Spurs have been on a run of strong play lately, and this is a true contender. That being said, Dylan Harper has taken a bit of a backseat with the full crew back, and I’m a little surprised that Devin Vassell has been getting more playing time and being more productive than Harper. That said, he does fit what the team needs a little better, so he will likely remain impactful, and he’s been a top 110 player in fantasy leagues over the last two weeks.

Toronto Raptors

Not much has changed for the Raptors in recent weeks. They’re still managing Jakob Poeltl’s minutes, and he’s missed three of the last four games. No other big man is really stepping up in his absence, so there’s no real corresponding move. RJ Barrett should also return as early as next week, which would be welcome for the Raptors.

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Utah Jazz

Things have remained pretty status quo for the Jazz over the last few weeks. The minutes and usage are dominated by Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George, with Jusuf Nurkić and Isaiah Collier also continuing to give meaningful production in their minutes as well. Sadly, even though Ace Bailey is getting plenty of run, he’s averaging 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and little else.

Washington Wizards

Alex Sarr, Bilal Coulibaly, and Khris Middleton are all back. Coulibaly played 23 minutes in his first game back, and Bub Carrington was down to 15 minutes. However, Carrington also had a foot injury in that game, so we may not know until Friday just how the Wizards are splitting up these minutes after Carrington emerged when everybody else was out. Marvin Bagley III has also played well in his limited minutes, and he could be useful on another squad if he gets traded.