NBA Minutes Report: How injuries to Giannis Antetokounmpo and Steph Curry impact playing time

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.

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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Check out the fantasy basketball rankings update as the season enters December.

Atlanta Hawks

Kristaps Porzingis has been battling an illness and has missed four straight games, so we have to hope everything is alright. Trae Young (knee) remains out and will be re-evaluated later this week. In his absence, Nickeil Alexander-Walker has been tremendous, averaging 23.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists over his last eight games. That’s a top-50 value in fantasy basketball leagues. Jalen Johnson is dealing with a bit of a calf injury of his own, but he’s been one of the best players in the league so far this year.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics’ rotation has been pretty consistent for much of the season. The end-of-rotation minutes between Neemias Queta and Josh Minott fluctuate a little bit, and only three players (Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard) have consistent fantasy value.

Brooklyn Nets

Cam Thomas remains out until the middle of December, and Terance Mann has been dealing with a rib injury, which has caused him to miss the last two games. That has allowed Danny Wolf to enter the rotation, where he has fluctuated between good and bad games. Noah Clowney has been playing better of late, averaging 18.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.0 assists over his last seven games. Aside from his recent stretch and the consistent production from Michael Porter Jr. and Nic Claxton, there hasn’t been much to be excited about for the Nets.

Charlotte Hornets

Brandon Miller has missed the last two games while managing the same shoulder injury, which has led to an uptick in minutes for Sion James and allowed for Tidjane Salaün to enter the rotation in the last two games. Collin Sexton has also returned but remains set around 20 minutes per game, which caps his fantasy upside. Ryan Kalkbrenner did leave Wednesday’s game with an ankle injury, so that’s a situation to monitor because Moussa Diabaté had actually been more impactful of late and could be an interesting player if he gets near 30 minutes a game.

Chicago Bulls

Kevin Huerter went from battling through a pelvic issue to being out with a hamstring injury. Isaac Okoro has also missed the last six games with a back injury, Jalen Smith has missed three games with a hamstring injury, Tre Jones missed a game with an ankle injury, and Coby White has missed the last three games with a calf injury. That has allowed Julian Phillips to enter the rotation and allowed Matas Buzelis to be counted on for a larger role. He’s averaging 12.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.5 blocks over his last four games. All of Smith, White, Jones, and Okoro could be back this weekend, so this is a situation in flux.

Cleveland Cavaliers

This Cavs team has been disjointed for much of the year. We know Max Strus has yet to play at all this season, and Darius Garland has been in and out of the lineup. Now, Jarrett Allen has been sidelined with a finger injury, Larry Nance Jr. will be out until the end of the month with a right calf strain, and Sam Merrill has missed eight games with a hand injury. Jaylon Tyson continues to remain a key part of the rotation, but also Garland, Donovan Mitchell, and Evan Mobley can be counted on for fantasy value.

Dallas Mavericks

It seems that the Mavericks have found their point guard, with Ryan Nembhard averaging 17.0 points, 7.5 assists, and 2.8 rebounds over his last four games. That has also coincided with D’Angelo Russell continuing to see less playing time. Mebhard has been a top 60 player over that stretch and needs to be added in all fantasy leagues. We’ve also seen the Mavericks stop experimenting with Cooper Flagg as a point forward and start using him as a stretch forward next to Anthony Davis, which has been great for both of them in recent weeks. All of P.J. Washington, Dereck Lively II, and Daniel Gafford could return from their various injuries this weekend, which would mean less playing time for Naji Marshall and Dwight Powell.

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets are dealing with injuries to Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun, which has shaken up the rotation a bit. Cameron Johnson and Peyton Watson are the big winners here, and I covered that in this video I recorded last week. Spencer Jones has left Wednesday’s game with a knee injury, so that’s a situation to monitor in the weeks ahead.

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 this week, but I’m concerned about what this has done to Ausar Thompson’s fantasy value. He’s barely been a top-160 player over the last two weeks.

Golden State Warriors

Steph Curry will be out at least another week with a quad injury, which I discussed in a video this week. Brandin Podziemski will see the biggest uptick in minutes and usage, which has led to him being a top 100 player in the small sample size since Curry has been out. Jonathan Kuminga also returned, but he has been limited to about 16 minutes in his first two games, and we should see his minutes tick up as the days go on. Gary Payton Jr. has been good in his two games with Curry out, posting 16 points, eight rebounds, and four assists, and could be worth an add in fantasy formats.

Houston Rockets

With Tari Eason out until the middle of December and Steven Adams playing fewer minutes, it’s been Reed Sheppard who has moved into a bigger role. He’s also been really good over the last two weeks, posting 14.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.0 steals over his last six games, which has been good for top-75 value. He should be added in more leagues.

Indiana Pacers

T.J. McConnell is doing a lot in limited minutes so far. Over the last two weeks, he’s averaging 11.7 points, 5.1 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game in seven games. That’s been good for top-100 value. Jay Huff has also snuck into fringe fantasy consideration as the primary big man in Indiana and is averaging 3.1 blocks per game over his last seven games.

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

Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers have been a disaster, and things got even weirder when they sent Chris Paul home in the middle of the night on Wednesday. Right now, only James Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Ivica Zubac are fantasy-relevant, and this whole team needs a reset in a bad way.

Los Angeles Lakers

Luka Dončić missed one game due to the birth of his child (congrats), and Marcus Smart has missed three games with a back injury, but things have remained remarkably consistent otherwise for the Lakers.

Memphis Grizzlies

Zach Edey has returned and been tremendous over his last seven games, posting 15.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks. He’s a borderline top-50 player and is underappreciated, but not as underappreciated as his teammate, Vince Williams Jr., who has been filling in at point guard with Ja Morant out and has been a top-50 player over the last two weeks as well. The increased usage of those two and led to a smaller role for Cedric Coward, who remains talented but is no longer as involved in the offense.

Miami Heat

Norman Powell missed the last game with an ankle injury, but everything else has been status quo since Tyler Herro returned. As we expected, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kel’el Ware have seen their roles reduced. Even with Herro back, Andrew Wiggins has been arguably Miami’s best player, averaging 18.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game, which has made him a top-50 player in fantasy basketball.

Milwaukee Bucks

We just found out on Thursday that Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss two to four weeks with a calf injury. It’s a brutal blow for the Bucks, but we’ve seen what will happen when he’s out. We know Kyle Kuzma and Kevin Porter Jr. are going to see an uptick in usage, while Bobby Portis will be a key member of the rotation, and Jericho Sims will likely play more minutes as a backup big man.

Minnesota Timberwolves

I say this every week, but Minnesota has probably had the most consistent lineup and rotation of any team in basketball this season. Not much is changing here, except that Terrence Shannon Jr. is entering the fringe of the rotation.

New Orleans Pelicans

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Zion Williamson is hurt and will be out at least three weeks with an adductor injury. I covered the repercussions of that in a video this week, but the injury is a big boost for Derik Queen and Saddiq Bey.

New York Knicks

The Knicks have moved Josh Hart back into the starting lineup, where he has thrived. With OG Anunoby nearing a return to action, the Knicks will have an interesting decision to make regarding their starting five. However, their rotation has remained consistent, and we know that everything runs through Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikail Bridges, and both Hart and Anunoby when they’re healthy.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder got Jalen Williams back this week, but lost Isaiah Hartenstein to an injury. I covered the Thunder rotation in a video this week, but I think we might not see how this rotation truly shakes out until next week when Hartenstein returns.

Orlando Magic

Paolo Banchero could return this weekend, which would lead to fewer minutes for Anthony Black and less usage for Franz Wagner. However, the Magic have been playing really well of late, so we need to see how things shake out when Banchero is back in the fold.

Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers seem to be oscillating between missed games for Joel Embiid and Paul George as they look to keep the knees of both aging veterans healthy. VJ Edgecombe also missed three games with a calf injury and has had limited minutes in his return. Perhaps those minutes will tick up in the coming weeks, and it will be curious if those minutes come at the expense of Jared McCain.

Phoenix Suns

Devin Booker injured his groin this week and will be out up to a week. I recorded a video this week covering what the fallout of that would be, but it’s good news for Collin Gillespie, who has already been a top-60 player over his last seven games and should continue to produce solid, across-the-board usage with Booker out.

Portland Trail Blazers

Jrue Holiday remains out, and Scoot Henderson will be out til the end of December, so that has led to more minutes for guys like Caleb Love. Shaedon Sharpe also returned after missing four games and has averaged 15.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.3 steals in his four games back, good for top-115 value in fantasy leagues. Donovan Clingan has also spiked some usable games but has been splitting time with Robert Williams III, who is now battling a knee injury.

Sacramento Kings

Domantas Sabonis will be out for around a month with a knee injury, and I covered all the repercussions of that in a video here. Maxime Raynaud has seen the biggest minutes increase and just scored 25 points on 10-of-15 from the field on Wednesday, so he could be a name to watch. Keegan Murray has also been a top-60 fantasy player since he returned from injury and could be the most reliable option on this team while Sabonis is out.

San Antonio Spurs

Dylan Harper returned to a bench role, and Stephon Castle could return this weekend, so it will be interesting to see how the Spurs divide their minutes with all three guards healthy. Victor Wembanyama is still likely out for another two weeks, which means continued playing time for Luke Kornet. We’ve also seen Keldon Johnson provide solid value over the last two weeks, but you have to wonder if that would take a hit when Castle returns.

Toronto Raptors

RJ Barrett is still dealing with a knee injury, and Jakob Poeltl has been missing games here and there to help manage his back injury, but the rest of the rotation remains pretty consistent in terms of minutes and usage.

Utah Jazz

Jusuf Nurkić is dealing with a rib injury, which has led to a few more minutes for Kyle Filipowski. We also saw Kyle Anderson return, but he seems to be playing every other game at this point, which makes his role inconsistent at best.

Washington Wizards

Tre Johnson and Corey Kispert are still battling injuries they suffered last week, and now Bilal Coulibaly is going to miss “multiple weeks” with yet another injury. Ca, Whitmore, Bub Carrington, and Justin Champagnie should see more minutes with all three of Coulibaly, Johnson, and Kispert sidelined, but none of them have produced consistent value at this point in the season.