25 Minutes. That should be the amount of playing time your players are playing in on your fantasy basketball teams. 25 minutes per game shows trust from the coaches. The balance of the game is being put in those players hands for over half of it. Now is the time to be watching the waiver wire closely. When it comes to picking up a player, shot attempts and playing time are key. See how much a player is involved in their team’s offensive game plan.
Dallas Mavericks Guard Devin Harris is in a major time-share at his position, but that does not mean he should be overlooked. Harris has gotten a lot of open shot opportunities. While his teammates Chandler Parsons, Monta Ellis and Dirk Nowitzki are driving the lane, Harris waits patiently for the open shot from long range. Besides scoring 11.3 points per game, Harris has dished 5 assists and grabbed 1.3 steals per game. He is owned in just 31 percent of leagues polled and plays 26.1 minutes per game. Harris has been a major help and has helped fantasy owners in the past. He is a great pick up.
Another guard who you should consider picking up is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Owned in 24 percent of leagues polled). Brandon Jennings has not looked good to start the season and Pistons Head Coach Stan Van Gundy has gone to his bench and has given minutes to both Caldwell-Pope and D.J. Augustin. Caldwell-Pope has been used as a deep threat for the most part. Besides his 13.4ppg he has compiled, he has also grabbed 5.2 rebounds per game and guards who rebound will get more playing time. Washington Wizards Guard Garrett Temple (Owned in 30 percent of leagues polled) has been benefitting the most from Bradley Beal (wrist) being out. Temple has made 2.3 three-point field goals per game and has scored 12 points per game. Temple is often seen following his own shots and getting rebounds from it. He has been stellar on defense swiping the ball 1.7 timer per game and blocking a shot in every other game on average. Even when Beal returns, Temple is making a strong case in regards to keeping his spot in the rotation.
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers are two teams who have faced injuries early in the season. Look at the depth charts of those two squads and watch to see who gets at least 25 minutes of playing time. Thunder Center Steven Adams is one of those players who is playing in over 50 percent of the Thunder’s games and has been a major scoring, rebounding and steals help. He has gotten a ton more aggressive on defense and has grabbed 7.7 rebounds per game while stealing the ball 1.2 times per game. He is only owned in 21 percent of leagues polled and with the many injuries on the Thunder, he will be seeing a lot of playing time. Lakers Forward-Center Ed Davis (Owned in 31 percent of leagues polled) is owned a bit more than Adams, but is also a big inside threat who has shown a good amount of scoring. Davis is scoring 10.4 points per game while shooting 66.7 percent from the field. These statistics show that he takes shots mainly in the paint. Even though he only plays 22.4 minutes per game, Davis has shown that he can do a lot in a limited amount of playing time. He has grabbed 7.2 rebounds and blocked 1.4 shots per game.
Looking for a swingman who lives and dies by the three? If so, Miami Heat Forward Shawne Williams is your guy. Williams has been able to secure playing time on a team with three sharpshooters in Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Luol Deng. Williams (Owned in 17 percent of leagues polled) has not only scored 11.4 points per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the field, but he has been playing in 29.3 minutes per game and has also grabbed 5 rebounds per game. He will also contribute a steal and block in the majority of games. This is all around production that you can easily find if the proper research is done. Another member on the Thunder who will get a ton of playing time because of the many injuries is Guard-Forward Jeremy Lamb. After dealing with a back injury to start the season, Lamb (owned in 14 percent of leagues polled), has already been given a vote of confidence and played 41 minutes in his season debut. Last season, Lamb was a streaky shooter with a quick back door cut to the basket. He does have the ability to drive, and will be depended on as a major facilitator and scorer for this team while Kevin Durant (foot) and Russell Westbrook (knee) recover from their respective injuries.
Always be looking for players who play multiple positions. The more positions that a player plays, the easier it is to rotate that player in an NBA system and that will translate to more playing time for that player. There is still time to find these players, but you need to spend10 minutes per day looking. It will make a world of difference and you will beat your competition to the punch. Find the players who help you minimally in as many categories as possible.