NBA Minutes Report: Dejounte Murray returns, Deni Avdija remains sidelined

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 extremely generous. Be sure to follow him to check out all of his baseball data as well.

Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks are dealing with a few injuries here, but likely nothing major. Nickeil Alexander-Walker is dealing with a foot sprain, and Jalen Johnson is battling a hip injury, but neither player is expected to miss much time. That likely means that Jonathan Kuminga will continue to come off the bench, but he looked good in his Hawks debut, which I covered in a video this week. Dyson Daniels' offensive game has taken a step back lately, which is hurting his fantasy basketball ceiling, but his defense remains elite, which keeps him on the court and as a fringe top 100 player even when he's not scoring.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics look like they are getting closer to getting Jayson Tatum back, which would obviously be a huge addition for them. Lately, this has gone from a three-headed monster to one with four heads as Nikola Vučević has been a top 70 player in just 21-24 minutes because he continues to rebound the ball relatively well. His offensive game has really struggled since coming to Boston.

Brooklyn Nets

Kudos to the Nets for being one of the bottom-feeder teams that is not egregiously tanking. That being said, they don't have plenty of talented players who need to be benched. Michael Porter Jr. has remained a rock-solid producer for them, and they've actually gotten some good production of late from Nolan Traore, who's averaging 11 points, 5 assists, and 2.3 steals over his last four games. That defensive value is giving him some fantasy value, but this is really a deep roster of mediocre talent who are going to siphon minutes and usage from one another.

Charlotte Hornets

The Hornets are now back to full strength after Moussa Diabaté returned from his suspension to play 31 minutes. It seems like he's going to continue to be the primary center in Charlotte, and that has made him really valuable. We also saw Coby White make his Hornets debut, but he played just 16 minutes off the bench. Given that he is still dealing with a calf issue, it's unclear how much White will play as a primary backup to LaMelo Ball. This remains a team that really leans on its key four starters for production.

Chicago Bulls

Chicago is only four games out of the play-in tournament, but it seems like a long shot that they get there. Two of the players the Bulls added at the trade deadline - Anfernee Simons and Jaden Ivey - are both dealing with rather significant injuries and could be out for weeks, potentially the remainder of the season if the Bulls fully drop out of the playoffs. Jalen Smith is also dealing with a calf injury, and Zach Collins is out for the rest of the season, so we should get lots of minutes for Nick Richards and Guerschon Yabusele until Smith is back. On the plus side, Matas Buzelis has turned things around again, and Josh Giddey has been back on the court for the last four games. That might be it.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Things were going swimmingly for the Cavs, but it was announced that James Harden fractured the thumb on his non-shooting hand in a win over the Knicks this week. It's unclear how long that will keep him out, but it would obviously be a big blow for the Cavs. I don't expect him to miss much time, but the newly acquired Dennis Schröder would pick up the minutes if Harden misses time. The Cavs are also not playing Evan Mobley in both games of a back-to-back yet, but that should change in the coming weeks.

Dallas Mavericks

The Mavericks are another team clearly playing for next season. Cooper Flagg has missed time with a foot injury, P.J. Washington has missed some time with an ankle injury, and Daniel Gafford continues to battle an ankle injury. There just isn't a lot to get excited about here for this season. Naji Marshall continues to produce, and Brandon Williams should be the primary point guard from here on out.

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets can't seem to stay healthy this season. Aaron Gordon remains out with a hamstring injury. Same for Peyton Watson. Jalen Pickett has a knee injury, and Jamal Murray has been battling an illness. Murray hasn't really missed much time, and he and Nikola Jokić are continuing to dominate as we've come accustomed to. Nobody on the team has been sniffing much value so far as they continue to fill different roles based on who's healthy.

Detroit Pistons

Isaiah Stewart has just finished serving his suspension, so this Pistons team is now at full strength. We have seen Ronald Holland II take on a bigger role at the expense of Ausar Thompson because Holland is a high-energy player with a strong defensive approach, like Thompson, but has more offensive value, as I discussed in a recent video. They both don't shoot well, so neither has huge upside and could lose minutes to guys like Duncan Robinson if the Pistons are trailing.

Golden State Warriors

Stephen Curry and Kristaps Porziņģis are both out with sciatica and an illness, respectively, but the Warriors are pretty healthy otherwise. Brandin Podziemski has picked up the slack with Curry out, but is also contributing plenty of rebounds and assists to be a real asset across the board. Gui Santos has also produced in his 31+ minutes per game and has been a top-50 player over the last two weeks.

Houston Rockets

The Rockets are battling for the third seed in the West, and they're doing so with a pretty tight rotation of essentially six players with Dorian Finney-Smith and Josh Okogie mixed in. Amen Thompson missed one game this week, but he's already back, so this team is operating at full strength with its usual complement of minutes and usage. Jabari Smith Jr. has really taken a step forward this season, as I covered in a video this week.

Indiana Pacers

I know Pacers fans get upset that their team is being singled out by the NBA for tanking, but, I mean, this team is egregiously tanking. Ivica Zubac will be out for "a while" even though he was playing for the Clippers before the trade deadline, and that means Micah Potter, Jay Huff, and Jarace Walker will continue to see minutes as primary big men alongside Pascal Siakam. Walker has been a top 80 player over the last three weeks, so he could be rostered in more formats, but this is really a situation to avoid, apart from Siakam and Andrew Nembhard, when he plays.

Fantasy Basketball Week 2 Injury Report: Luka Dončić, Anthony Edwards headline the list of sidelined stars

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

• Raphielle Johnson,

Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers are technically in the final spot of the play-in tournament, but they are also staring down a potential suspension for Kawhi Leonard and injuries to John Collins and Darius Garland, who came over in the James Harden trade. Bennedict Mathurin has produced in his minutes, as I mentioned in a video I recorded this week, but there's not much going on aside from him and Kawhi.

Los Angeles Lakers

As has been the case all season, the Lakers are essentially a three-man team when they're all healthy. This team is healthy now, so you know the three players that can be relied on.

Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis is in rebuild mode, so you're going to see a deep rotation of young players to end the season. Unfortunately, both Cedric Coward and Santi Aldama are battling knee injuries, which have kept them off the court, and it doesn't seem likely that Ja Morant (elbow) returns this season. That has meant big minutes and usage for Ty Jerome, who is getting some rest days mixed in after coming back from offseason surgery. It has also meant that GG Jackson is taking on a larger role, averaging 22 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.3 blocks over the last two weeks.

Miami Heat

Tyler Herro finally returned this week, which I covered in a video, which is good news for a Heat team that is only 1.5 games out of a full playoff spot. Jaime Jaquez Jr. has stepped up for them every time there is a player missing time, but this team is carried by Bam Adebayo, Andrew Wiggins, and Norman Powell. Having Herro back in the mix will help and will likely mean a slight dip in production for Davion Mitchell.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks are hanging around a play-in spot they so desperately want to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo happy. He remains the only major injury on this team, and while his absence has led to more minutes for Jericho Sims, it's really Bobby Portis and Kyle Kuzma picking up some extra usage. Just not enough to be producing incredibly relevant stats for fantasy leagues. Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins are driving this car until Giannis is back.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Throughout the season, the Timberwolves have remained one of the healthiest teams in the entire league, and that remains the case now. It's pretty astonishing, really.

New Orleans Pelicans

Dejounte Murray made his season debut on Tuesday, which I covered in a video this week. His move into the starting lineup pushed Derik Queen to the bench, which is a bit of a bummer. DeAndre Jordan continues to play big minutes and put up solid rebounding and block numbers, while Saddiq Bey has remained a fringe top 100 player all season long. Trey Murphy III remains out with a shoulder injury, but it will be interesting to see how the minutes are split once he is back.

New York Knicks

The Knicks are healthy, other than Miles McBride being out for the rest of the regular season with a hernia. Jose Alvarado has essentially stepped into his exact role, and this remains a two-man offense with the other parts spiking big performances out of nowhere as this offense on the whole struggles to find its rhythm.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Thunder are battling plenty of injuries right now, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams both remaining out.I covered those injuries and the rotation fallout in a video this week.

Orlando Magic

Both Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner are on the sidelines again, which has kept Anthony Black on the court for 35+ minutes per game in his breakout season. Wendell Carter Jr. has also had some big games that have kept his minutes up, but this team lacks a ton of offensive production other than Black, Paolo Banchero, and Desmond Bane. It's been a rough season for Orlando.

Philadelphia 76ers

Joel Embiid finally returned to the court this week after missing five games with a knee injury. It was more of a load management or pain management situation, but it's noteworthy with all of his previous injuries. Still, this team runs through Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe now. Kelly Oubre Jr. also continues to play big minutes with Paul George suspended.

Phoenix Suns

With both Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks on the sidelines, the Suns have had to rely heavily on their bench of late.I covered the fallout of those injuries in a video this week.

Portland Trail Blazers

Both Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe were dealt tough injury blows, which has meant that the Blazers are needing to rely on Scoot Henderson and Jermai Grant more than they anticipated. I covered that fallout in a video this week, but Donovan Clingan has really produced in what has been a breakout season.

Sacramento Kings

The Kings are the worst team in basketball, and now they are incredibly banged up on top of that. There's not really a lot to say here. When Demar DeRozan plays, he still has some value, and Maxime Reynaud has been a nice find for them in the second round, but there is little else to be excited about here. If they continue to rest Russell Westbrook, then we should see lots of minutes and potentially more usage for Nique Clifford down the stretch.

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs are healthy and very good. I'm not sure many people expected them to be the number two seed in the Western Conference this early, but here we are. Dylan Harper has stepped into a bigger role off the bench, which is nice to see, but this team runs through Victor Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox, and Stephon Castle.

Toronto Raptors

Collin Murray-Boyles continues to battle a thumb injury, but the Raptors are pretty healthy otherwise and have begun to ramp up the minutes for Jakob Poeltl. It's not leading to tons of production yet, but it's nice to see. The production continues to come from the same four guys it has all season, but it's been enough to have the Raptors as the five seed in the Eastern Conference.

Utah Jazz

The Jazz were pretty feisty when they were healthy, so they just decided to shut down all their good players. It's hard to really talk about who to rely on in Utah, but it seems like Kyle Filipowski is going to get plenty of minutes as their primary big man, and Isaiah Collier is going to handle the ball as much as possible with Keyonte George sidelined. Other than that, just watch Utah next season when they should be pretty good.

Washington Wizards

The Wizards are another team that's not trying to win basketball games. It's just a situation to avoid entirely.