QUESTIONS OF PLAYING TIME 8/26/00   Who is going to get more minutes at the center position next year for the Los Angeles Lakers, Shaquille O'Neal or Travis Knight? Well the answer to that one is easy but other questions of playing time are not as simple. Who will log the most amount of minutes at point guard for the Detroit Pistons? Mateen Cleaves or Chucky Atkins? If the answer to this question was clear you might have a fantasy steal. The Pistons traded away last years starting point guard Lindsey Hunter leaving the point guard duties to these two neophytes (at least at this time). But just about any player given over 30 minutes is bound to have some fantasy value. When there is not a clear answer there exists two possibilities; The first is that the players share time, which is the worst case scenario in terms of looking for a player emerging with fantasy value. The other is one player emerges and gets the coveted 30+ minutes per game. If the fantasy owner can determine in the preseason the subtle answer to battles such as this they could find a fantasy sleeper. In this particular instance, I suspect the Pistons will make a trade before the season begins to bring in another point guard changing the issue from just Cleaves vs. Atkins. But what about the small forward position in Utah? This is a more serious issue for fantasy owners since the incumbent, Bryon Russell, who averaged 35 mpg last season, now has to compete with Donyell Marshall whose best position is small forward. Who will win this battle? At this time the answer is not clear. They could split time, thereby reducing the potential of both, or one could become the clear "starter". In this case, Marshall could conceivably play some power forward as well such that they both get 30+ minutes. But at this time I see Danny Manning getting the majority of the backup minutes at power forward leaving the fight for playing time at the small forward position. Fantasy owners need to determine how they will value players such as Russell and Marshall who do not have a clear cut role at the time of their draft. It is my preference to value players such as this as if they will both not be getting over 30 minutes to avoid getting burned to picking the wrong winner to the playing time battle. The following is a list of other "questions of playing time" which the fantasy owner may want to pay attention to. At this time the answer to who will end up with the most amount of playing time is not clear. If a player was to emerge during the preseason as the clear winner it could mean he will have more fantasy value than other managers in your league may realize giving you a competitive edge on draft day. The center position in Milwaukee - Joel Pryzbilla vs. Ervin Johnson The shooting guard position in Sacramento - Nick Anderson vs. Doug Christie (assuming the imminent trade for Corliss Williamson happens) The point guard position in Dallas - Steve Nash vs. Howard Eisley The point guard position for the Clippers - Jeff McInnis vs. Keyon Dooling (now a clear winner here would certainly translate into a sleeper pick) The center position in Vancouver - Bryant Reeves vs. Isaac Austin To see how HoopsKlyce has projected the playing time for these and other players order the HoopsKlyce Preseason Player Rating Report. Previous Article Next Article Copyright © Hoops Klyce 2000 - All Rights Reserved Website Designed by Lelnet Failed to execute script '../cgi-local/ax.cgi': Win32 Error Code = 2