At this point in the season rotations are still getting set and the key to finding a good pick up at this point is playing time A player who plays at least 20 minutes per game in their team’s rotation is a good sign that they have staying power in the rotation unless they are directly filling in for an injured player. For a lot of players who are considered ninth and 10th men in the rotation are auditioning for bigger roles as we speak. The Bulls just lost Patrick Williams for the rest of the season and that is a good team to focus on to see who picks up the open minutes and whether or not that will translate to production for his fill in. I will never suggest picking up a player who is invested in more than 40% of leagues. It’s all about staying ahead of the game and finding the “next guy” before you start seeing them appear more frequently. These players aren’t in any kind of rankings or prioritization order. 

Jalen Brunson G DAL-36% Invested In: Brunson has proven in the past that he can serve as a good utility option who can play both guard spots and give the Mavericks an extra spark when another main scorer is out. Kristaps Porzingis is out and Brunson could absolutely benefit indirectly by getting more time with the ball. He’s scoring 13 points per game. Brunson will fight for loose balls and rebounds and he’s grabbed five boards per game thus far. Expect him to get time to run the point as well and he’s dished nearly six dimes per outing. Expect Brunson to play 25-30 minutes regularly. Brunson has grabbed steals as well in two of his last three games. Brunson has scored more points per game than Porzingis and he’s taken 11-12 shots per contest. Brunson has been shooting nearly 47 percent from the floor over 47 percent from beyond the arc to start the season. 

Franz Wagner SG, SF ORL-40% Invested In: Wagner has been starting regularly and is tied for second when it comes to the Magic’s scoring leaders. Wagner plays about 33 minutes per game and he’s scored 13.6 points per outing. He is one of three players on Orlando that takes at least 10 shots per outing. He’s always moving around on the court and he gets excellent looks from weaving through traffic. Wagner has shot about 52 percent from the floor. He’s also been a bit helpful on the defensive end grabbing 3.6 boards per game and he’s grabbed a swipe in all but one game. Look at guards who grab at least three boards per game because it shows a true commitment to the position. Wagner has even blocked a few shots to start the season. Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac are nowhere near ready to return to the court and the Magic love bringing Terrence Ross in off the bench. Expect Wagner to remain in the starting lineup.

Lonnie Walker IV SG, SF SAS-36% Invested In: Walker has gotten off to a good start and the Spurs don’t have a lot of skilled mid-court options and Walker is constantly looking to drive and he’ll fire away from long distance. He’ll get some time to run the point with the reserves and he’s scored 15 points per game. He’s grabbing at least three boards per contest and he’s stolen the ball in four of five games. Walker is quick and he’s taken double-digit shots in every single game except for one. Walker has been one of the strongest shooter for the Spurs by hitting 45.8 percent of his shots. In the past, Walker had a lot of competition for playing time and over the last two seasons he’s made tremendous strides and his minutes have shown it and thus far Walker is playing just under 26 minutes per outing. 

Darius Bazley F OKC-29% Invested In: Bazley is third on the Thunder in scoring and he takes 10-11 shots per game. He’s a bull and hard to keep out once he gets in the lane and he’s hard to keep out of the paint. It’s very hard to box him out when he’s on defense and he’s grabbed over six boards per contest. Bazley leads the Thunder in blocks blocking one shot per outing and he’s even swiped 1.2 balls per game. He just scored his season-high 20 points against the Lakers and he’s taken double-digit shots in 3 of 5 battles. The Thunder’s shooting isn’t great and Bazley, who has started in every game this season could find himself getting more shots and plays called for him in the paint. He’s more dynamic than Derrick Favors. He’s quicker than Favors on both ends of the floor. Expect his playing time to rise as the season continues. He’ll play more than 26-27 minutes per contest.

Grayson Allen SG, SF MIL-27% Invested In: We don’t know when we’ll see Donte DiVincenzo back in the mix in Milwaukee and Allen has been starting and he’s been doing damage on the offensive end. Allen is just one of three Bucks that takes at least 10 shots per game. Allen can both handle the rock and shoot from all over the court and his main competition for shots will be Pat Connaughton. He’s grabbed four or more boards in his last three games. He’s even grabbed steals in all but one game. Allen will be helpful moving the ball quickly when he’s in with the reserves. He’ll improve his shooting as he’s a career 42.3 percent shooter from the floor and 37.7 percent shooter from the arc. Expect Allen to continue to start and take 10 or more shots. He’s scored in double figures in every game this season.

Dorian Finney-Smith F DAL-26% Invested In: With Porzingis having back issues and the frontcourt of the Mavericks still unaddressed from last season, Finney-Smith one of the best defenders on the team will get himself eight to 12 shots most nights. He’s been grabbing 7.5 rebounds per game and he’s recorded 2 multi-steal games already as well. He plays the second most amount of minutes on team behind Luka Doncic and even though he hasn’t shot well from the field, he’s clearly a fixture in the Mavs rotation. Dallas plays at a very slow tempo and a lot of times on offense Finney-Smith will be utilized primarily as a bailout long-range shooter, but his defense is what keeps him heavily involved in the Mavs plans. He’s a lot more reliable of a shooter when he’s inside the arc rather than outside. 

Patrick Beverley G MIN-4% Invested In: If you need a final guard on your bench, Beverley does just enough to qualify as someone who we can use as a stopgap until something better comes along. Beverley (like Finney-Smith) is employed a lot more for his perimeter defense than anything else, but, we’ve seen D’Angelo Russell get hurt far too many times and Beverley is his back up. As long as Pat-Bev is getting 20 minutes per night, we can roster him and he’s playing over 21 thus far. Beverley doesn’t take many shots but he’s still averaging eight points per contest and he’s been pulling through by contributing assists. He dishes five per game. We can count on Beverley to grab a few boards for us. He’s grabbed 4.3 rebounds for his career. Beverley has grabbed a steal in every game that he’s played in and he’s blocked a shot in two of three games. The Timberwolves will be committed to giving him good run with their second unit. 

Hassan Whiteside PF, C UTA-34% Invested In: I say every year that you have to be careful rostering players who don’t play at least 20 minutes per game. In this situation, despite the fact that Rudy Gobert will be playing 30-32 minutes per game, Whiteside has always proven to be a volume-producer. Don’t expect him to play 20 minutes in a game unless Gobert is hurt or in foul trouble, but Whiteside still leads the team in blocks swatting away 1.2 shots per game and he ranks 2nd on the team in rebounding pulling down 7.3 balls per game. Whiteside will see around 18 minutes most nights and he’s actually scored 10 points in both of his last 2 games. The Bulls, Bucks and Kings are his next few opponents and they don’t have the reserves to keep him out of the paint. He doesn’t have post moves. He fights for boards and put-backs and that’s where a lot of his production comes from along with blocking a good amount of shots. If there’s no other good center option available to add, keep him on a short leash.

Shake Milton G PHI-7% Invested In: I feel like we’re getting in on the ground floor with Milton. We saw him play over 23 minutes and score 13 points per game. In his debut for the season on Thursday, he scored 13 points and dished 5 dimes in 16 minutes. He took 10 shots. He took 10-11 shots per game last season. Even though Danny Green and Tyrese Maxey will have the edge over him when it comes to minutes and starting, but he can definitely get burn with the reserves and he’ll be battling Furkan Korkmaz for those reserve minutes. Last season we saw Milton show that he can produce at both guard spots. He’s shot 45.4 percent from the floor throughout his young career and he’s a good change of pace player with quickness. With Ben Simmons still on the court, we should see Milton pick up more playing time moving forward. Milton has shot nearly 38 percent from the outside. 

Maxi Kleber PF, C DAL-17% Invested In: Final Mavericks player in this piece, I promise you! Porzingis Back being hurt and Dwight Powell not being a reliable producer on offense bodes well for Kleber. He’s a career 45.7 percent shooter and he’s played over 20 minutes per game for the Mavericks for the last 3 season’s. He’s scored nine-plus points in his last two contests and he’s grabbed steals in all but one game this year. He’s coming off of a six-block game and Kleber grabs 6.3 rebounds per outing. He moves around a lot better than Powell and he can shoot from the outside unlike Powell. The ability to stretch the floor is critical, especially with a team’s second unit. Powell is the starter, but Kleber should continue to get a true rotation commitment. He’s doing just enough to make the list and it’s very hard finding available centers on the waiver wire. There’s room for Kleber to play in this rotation, even when Porzingis is healthy.