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

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.

Thomas Robinson – (PF) Philadelphia 76ers - MONITOR

T-Rob has been the nemesis of many DFS players due to the unpredictability of Terry Stotts' fonrtcourt rotations, but he seems to have found a home in Philadelphia. Since being claimed off waivers on February 24^th, Robinson has played in 4 games, averaging just 16.5 minutes per contest, but producing 1.18 fantasy points (FP) per minute. The big minutes aren't quite there yet, but he fits well with a 76ers team that is in desperate need of consistency. Keep a close eye on T-Rob moving forward and see if his role and minutes increase.

Will Barton – (SG) Denver Nuggets - TARGET

Barton has been tremendous since coming over to Denver in the Arron Afflalo trade, averaging 27.6 minutes and 28.85 FP per game. He is scoring 1.04 FP per minute and is seeing consistent minutes, with 34, 31, and 27 in his last three games. Brian Shaw has made life difficult on many DFS players in the past, but Barton has the look of a teacher's pet in this new role. Barton is a phenomenal value across the industry right now, listed at a measly $3,800 tonight on DraftKings.

Nikola Mirotic – (PF) Chicago Bulls – TARGET

When given extended minutes, “HEROtic" has excelled. Now that Taj Gibson is expected to miss at least a week, Derrick Rose out after having yet another knee surgery, and Jimmy Butler expected to miss at least 3 weeks, Mirotic is in line for a bigger role. The Bulls offense lacks playmakers right now, and Mirotic is a big man that can do it all. In his last two games where he played at least 30 minutes, he is averaging 22.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per contest. In his last 4 games, he is averaging 1.2 FP per minute and should be targeted in all formats tonight at just $4,400 on DraftKings.

Tony Snell – (SF) Chicago Bulls – MONITOR

Another player that looks to benefit from the myriad on injuries in Chicago is Snell, who is already seeing an increase in playing time. He has averaged 30.75 minutes per game over the last 4, and should see similar playing time moving forward until Rose and/or Butler return. He doesn't have the ceiling that Mirotic has (average of 0.71 FP per minute in his last 4), which leaves him for reserved for cash games in my book. He is listed at $3,600 on DraftKings tonight at a SF position that is generally tough to fill.

Wayne Ellington – (SG) Los Angeles Lakers – TARGET

Ellington's minutes have been on the rise since the injury to Kobe Bryant (19.6 prior to the injury, 33.4 since), and while Kobe hasn't played since January 21^st, Ellington continues to become more involved in the offense. His FP per minute average isn't great (0.87), but he has played at least 34 minutes in 9 of the Lakers last 13 games, and has been under 30 just once. At $4,700, on DraftKings, he makes for a solid punt at SG.

Matthew Dellavedova – (SG) Cleveland Cavaliers – AVOID

With Kyrie Irving expected to return tonight, Dellavedova should be completely off of your radar. In fact, even if Kyrie Irving were to sit again, Dellavedova isn't someone who I will be targeting. He did have a solid 34.50 FP performance on February 27^th against Indiana, but he has proven many times that he isn't a productive player. A perfect example is his last game against Houston, where he played nearly 42 minutes and managed just 16.25 FP. Even in situations where he sees extended minutes in multiple games, he has flopped. From January 2^nd- January 7^th, he played an average of just over 34 minutes per game and averaged a paltry 0.57 FP per minute. Leave Dellavedova out of your lineups.