Minutes to Win It – Monitoring NBA Rotations 3/4/15

In this segment, I'll be breaking down players who are seeing a significant increase or decrease in minutes due to new (or overlooked) circumstances. I'll also be looking at how injuries and/or trades have affected these players. Each player's situation is unique, and I'll help you find the matchups and scenarios to exploit or avoid due to each player's change in court time. Each player will have be tagged with “TARGET", “MONITOR", or “AVOID". For today's article, I'll be focusing on DraftKings scoring.

Timofey Mozgov – (C) Cleveland Cavaliers – AVOID

“Mozzy" has provided a huge boost down low for the surging Cavaliers, but his minutes have been on the decline. In his first 20 games with Cleveland, he averaged 27.25 MPG, but that number has been cut down to 21 per contest over the last 6 games. The Cavs frontcourt is crowded, and with Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson eating up minutes down low, I'm not convinced that this trend won't continue. Mozgov is too expensive for my taste right now due to the lack of consistent minutes.

Alex Len – (C) Phoenix Suns – TARGET

Len has seen a huge bump in minutes since the trade deadline deals that sent Isaiah Thomas, Goran Dragic and Miles Plumlee out of town. He is averaging 31.4 minutes per game in the Suns' 7 games since the deadline, which is a huge bump from his 20.5 MPG average over his first 51 appearances this season. He has turned into a solid defender and rebounder down low, and should be targeted in all formats. He is listed at $5,600 on DraftKings tonight in a great matchup against Orlando.

Khris Middleton – (SF) Milwaukee Bucks – TARGET

Middleton has been the model of consistency as far as minutes go in the Milwaukee rotation, having played at least 33 minutes in 13 of his last 16 appearances. Jason Kidd isn't afraid to let him log huge minutes depending on game flow, and he has been tremendously consistent on offense as well, scoring in double figures in 16 of his last 17 games. He makes for a great high-floor cash game play with solid upside for tournaments.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – (SF) Charlotte Hornets – TARGET

MKG has been a high-energy player for a Charlotte offense that turned stagnant when Kemba Walker had knee surgery on January 28^th. He is an excellent defender who is a huge part of the Hornets improved defense across the board. After averaging just 27.1 MPG in January/February, his minutes have spiked to 35 per contest over the last 6 games. He has also averaged a solid 14.6 points and 8.6 rebounds over that span. He doesn't have an enormous ceiling for GPPs at his current price point, but his high floor makes him an ideal cash game target.

DeAndre Jordan – (C) Los Angeles Clippers – TARGET

If you're an avid DFS player, I'm not highlighting anything new for you here, but for those of you who may be new to the industry or simply don't play every day, this one is for you. In the 10 games since Blake Griffin's injury, Jordan is averaging a monstrous 37.4 MPG, and if you eliminate the blowout over the Kings where he played just 20 minutes, that number jumps to a whopping 39.3. Until Blake Griffin returns, Jordan is as safe of a play as there is, considering his insane averages of 16.6 points and 20.2 rebounds over his last 9 games. If you can afford him, get him into your lineups.

Ricky Rubio – (PG) Minnesota Timberwolves – TARGET

Another player who is seeing a significant uptick in minutes is Rubio. He has averaged 37.6 MPG over his last 6 games compared to 25.6 in his first 5 games since returning from injury. Granted, some of the lower minutes were due to a minutes limit set by the team, but his increase can't be ignored. Not only are his minutes steadily climbing, but he has been phenomenal over the aforementioned 6-game stretch, averaging 12.6 points, 10 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game. He is coming off back-to-back impressive performances against two of the toughest PG defenders in the NBA in Chris Paul and Mike Conley, with averages of 15.5/10.5/9.5 in those contests. He is an elite target in all formats tonight, and his price on DraftKings is a fair $7,800, which leaves plenty of room for upside.