Marreese's Piece

Who will get the minutes? It’s a simple question that rarely has a simple answer.

Coaches are constantly tinkering and toying with their rotations. Sometimes it has to with injuries and in other instances, it’s a result of ineffective play from a certain player. The impact this has on minutes played and thus statistical production is where we come in.

Every Tuesday for the rest of the season, I’ll explore a certain aspect of half the league’s rotations while attempting to get inside coaches’ heads. The idea isn’t to tell you what Kevin Love and LeBron James are going to do -- it’s to decipher how much burn fringe players are going to get.

Let’s kick it off in Memphis, where rash of injuries has opened up an opportunity for a former first-round pick.

GRIZZLIES
Position: Power forward
The opportunity Marreese Speights has been presented with is blinding. Zach Randolph (knee) is out for two months and Darrell Arthur (Achilles) is done for the year. Dante Cunningham has started four straight games at power forward, averaging 3.3 points and 3.3 rebounds on 30.0 percent shooting. He’s a backup-caliber player at best.

Speights certainly has issues, ranging from shot selection to defense to conditioning to basketball IQ. But when coach Lionel Hollins looks down his bench, Speights is the best he’s got at the power forward spot. The ex-Sixer logged 28 minutes off the bench Sunday night and jacked up 18 shots. It’s a trend that will continue as Speights has one of the highest touch-to-shot ratios in the league. We can safely project 24-29 minutes per night until Randolph returns.

HORNETS
Position: Power forward
When healthy, Chris Kaman has the ability to be one of the better offensive bigs in the game. Right now, he’s healthy.

Since taking over for Carl Landry as the Hornets’ starting power forward, Kaman is averaging 12.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 0.7 blocks while playing 27.1 minutes. Coach Monty Williams is fine with rolling two 7-footers out there in Kaman and Emeka Okafor. Look for the “Caveman’s” minutes to hover around 27-29 all year, making him a valuable fantasy asset.

JAZZ
Position: Shooting guard
The Jazz have a young, talented core that needs to be developed. Raja Bell simply doesn’t fit. Although Bell continues to start at shooting guard, it is unlikely to be a long-term role.

Gordon Hayward is Utah’s most talented all-around wing. He’s currently averaging just 27.1 minutes per game as the starting small forward. Once Bell’s role is reduced, Hayward won’t have to share as many minutes with Josh Howard and Alec Burks. Deep leaguers need to hold steady here as Hayward is a good bet to push for 32 minutes per night once the dust settles.

KINGS
Position: Power forward
DeMarcus Cousins has a strong relationship with new coach Keith Smart. Lock him in at center. That leaves J.J. Hickson to battle Jason Thompson for minutes at power forward while Chuck Hayes (shoulder) rehabs.

We already have a sample of what Hickson can do at this level. In 66 starts for the Cavs last season, he averaged 14.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game. Thompson has started 153 career games for the Kings, but managed just 11.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks.

In the first game after Hayes’ injury, Hickson logged 38 minutes while Thompson saw 19. While the split won’t be so heavy going forward, Hickson is good bet to hover around 30 minutes per night until Hayes returns. Cousins and Thompson are two of the most foul-prone players in the league.

LAKERS
Position: Small forward
Mike Brown has wisely decided that Metta World Peace is better off sustaining his career by playing against second-unit players. He also quickly found out that Devin Ebanks is not a starter on a team aiming for a championship. Enter Matt Barnes.

Here’s Brown’s latest quote on Barnes: “He's my small forward for the foreseeable future. He earned it. He's held onto it and he's played the right way for us at that position.”

Barnes has played at least 30 minutes in two straight games and 20 or more in five of his last six. Although he’s not a plus-scorer, Barnes has averaged 1.3 3-pointers, 1.2 steals, 0.6 blocks and 7.5 rebounds per-36 minutes his career. With World Peace and Ebanks clearly in the rearview mirror, 25-30 minutes per night the rest of the way is a solid bet.

Editor’s Note: For exclusive columns, chats, pickup advice, weekly rankings and much more, check out the Season Pass!

MAVERICKS
Position: Center
Brendan Haywood has never been much of a player. The Mavericks knew this last season as he was limited to a bit role behind Tyson Chandler. So what were they thinking when they let Chandler walk in free agency without even an offer? Some mix of 2012 salary cap space and Ian Mahinmi.

Over the last five games, Mahinmi is playing 22.1 minutes per game off the bench. Haywood is playing 20.5 minutes per game as the starter. Look for that kind of split to continue as the Mavs try to match up with the athletic bigs in the West. The problem is that Mahinmi isn’t much of a shot-blocker -- he’s swatting just 0.7 shots per game this season in 20 minutes per night.

NUGGETS
Position: Sixth man
Most good teams have a designated scorer off the bench, like James Harden in Oklahoma City, Lou Williams in Philly and Jamal Crawford in Portland. Al Harrington is not that man anymore.

On the season, Harrington is playing a healthy 24.3 minutes per game off the bench and scoring 14.4 points. The problem is he’s shooting 55.3 percent from the field when his career mark is 44.7 percent. There’s a nosedive coming here. Harrington will also turn 33 in a month and has a history of lower-leg problems. Rudy Fernandez has played 27-plus minutes five times in 10 games already this season.

Who will get the minutes? It’s a simple question that rarely has a simple answer.

Coaches are constantly tinkering and toying with their rotations. Sometimes it has to with injuries and in other instances, it’s a result of ineffective play from a certain player. The impact this has on minutes played and thus statistical production is where we come in.

Every Tuesday for the rest of the season, I’ll explore a certain aspect of half the league’s rotations while attempting to get inside coaches’ heads. The idea isn’t to tell you what Kevin Love and LeBron James are going to do -- it’s to decipher how much burn fringe players are going to get.

Let’s kick it off in Memphis, where rash of injuries has opened up an opportunity for a former first-round pick.

GRIZZLIES
Position: Power forward
The opportunity Marreese Speights has been presented with is blinding. Zach Randolph (knee) is out for two months and Darrell Arthur (Achilles) is done for the year. Dante Cunningham has started four straight games at power forward, averaging 3.3 points and 3.3 rebounds on 30.0 percent shooting. He’s a backup-caliber player at best.

Speights certainly has issues, ranging from shot selection to defense to conditioning to basketball IQ. But when coach Lionel Hollins looks down his bench, Speights is the best he’s got at the power forward spot. The ex-Sixer logged 28 minutes off the bench Sunday night and jacked up 18 shots. It’s a trend that will continue as Speights has one of the highest touch-to-shot ratios in the league. We can safely project 24-29 minutes per night until Randolph returns.

HORNETS
Position: Power forward
When healthy, Chris Kaman has the ability to be one of the better offensive bigs in the game. Right now, he’s healthy.

Since taking over for Carl Landry as the Hornets’ starting power forward, Kaman is averaging 12.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 0.7 blocks while playing 27.1 minutes. Coach Monty Williams is fine with rolling two 7-footers out there in Kaman and Emeka Okafor. Look for the “Caveman’s” minutes to hover around 27-29 all year, making him a valuable fantasy asset.

JAZZ
Position: Shooting guard
The Jazz have a young, talented core that needs to be developed. Raja Bell simply doesn’t fit. Although Bell continues to start at shooting guard, it is unlikely to be a long-term role.

Gordon Hayward is Utah’s most talented all-around wing. He’s currently averaging just 27.1 minutes per game as the starting small forward. Once Bell’s role is reduced, Hayward won’t have to share as many minutes with Josh Howard and Alec Burks. Deep leaguers need to hold steady here as Hayward is a good bet to push for 32 minutes per night once the dust settles.

KINGS
Position: Power forward
DeMarcus Cousins has a strong relationship with new coach Keith Smart. Lock him in at center. That leaves J.J. Hickson to battle Jason Thompson for minutes at power forward while Chuck Hayes (shoulder) rehabs.

We already have a sample of what Hickson can do at this level. In 66 starts for the Cavs last season, he averaged 14.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game. Thompson has started 153 career games for the Kings, but managed just 11.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks.

In the first game after Hayes’ injury, Hickson logged 38 minutes while Thompson saw 19. While the split won’t be so heavy going forward, Hickson is good bet to hover around 30 minutes per night until Hayes returns. Cousins and Thompson are two of the most foul-prone players in the league.

LAKERS
Position: Small forward
Mike Brown has wisely decided that Metta World Peace is better off sustaining his career by playing against second-unit players. He also quickly found out that Devin Ebanks is not a starter on a team aiming for a championship. Enter Matt Barnes.

Here’s Brown’s latest quote on Barnes: “He's my small forward for the foreseeable future. He earned it. He's held onto it and he's played the right way for us at that position.”

Barnes has played at least 30 minutes in two straight games and 20 or more in five of his last six. Although he’s not a plus-scorer, Barnes has averaged 1.3 3-pointers, 1.2 steals, 0.6 blocks and 7.5 rebounds per-36 minutes his career. With World Peace and Ebanks clearly in the rearview mirror, 25-30 minutes per night the rest of the way is a solid bet.

Editor’s Note: For exclusive columns, chats, pickup advice, weekly rankings and much more, check out the Season Pass!

MAVERICKS
Position: Center
Brendan Haywood has never been much of a player. The Mavericks knew this last season as he was limited to a bit role behind Tyson Chandler. So what were they thinking when they let Chandler walk in free agency without even an offer? Some mix of 2012 salary cap space and Ian Mahinmi.

Over the last five games, Mahinmi is playing 22.1 minutes per game off the bench. Haywood is playing 20.5 minutes per game as the starter. Look for that kind of split to continue as the Mavs try to match up with the athletic bigs in the West. The problem is that Mahinmi isn’t much of a shot-blocker -- he’s swatting just 0.7 shots per game this season in 20 minutes per night.

NUGGETS
Position: Sixth man
Most good teams have a designated scorer off the bench, like James Harden in Oklahoma City, Lou Williams in Philly and Jamal Crawford in Portland. Al Harrington is not that man anymore.

On the season, Harrington is playing a healthy 24.3 minutes per game off the bench and scoring 14.4 points. The problem is he’s shooting 55.3 percent from the field when his career mark is 44.7 percent. There’s a nosedive coming here. Harrington will also turn 33 in a month and has a history of lower-leg problems. Rudy Fernandez has played 27-plus minutes five times in 10 games already this season.

ROCKETS
Position: Small forward
Chase Budinger found himself just sitting in the corner waiting for the ball to come to him so he could shoot a 3-pointer. That’s not going to cut it, so he was demoted to the second unit last week.

Although many have not heard of new starter Chandler Parsons, he’s not a nobody. Parsons was the SEC Player of the Year at Florida last season and is a 6’9/221 23-year-old athlete. He’s already jacked up 14 3-pointers in just 15.6 minutes of action this season and has the defensive skill set to contribute in steals and blocks. With Budinger and Terrence Williams both in the doghouse, Parsons now has a chance to run with 26-30 minutes per game.

SPURS
Position: Shooting guard
When Manu Ginobili (hand) went down, Gary Neal was still in the midst of recovery from an appendectomy. In fact, his D-League rehab stint was cut short by about a week thanks to a necessity from the major league club. Therefore, Neal is just getting up to speed now and it shows.

Neal’s minutes have risen in each of his four games, from 16 to 20 to 21 to 28. Last year, Neal made 1.6 3-pointers per game while playing just 21.1 minutes. This year, he’s making 1.8 treys in 21.3 minutes. Look for Neal’s minutes to settle in around 26-30 per night, leading to as many as 2.0 3-pointers per night until Ginobili returns.

SUNS
Position: Power forward
Channing Frye is the rare player whose fantasy game is actually much better than his real-life game. When he’s not making his jump shots, he’s not giving the Suns very much.

That’s led to an all-out battle for minutes between Frye, who is shooting 34.6 percent on the season, and Markieff Morris, who is at 51.7 percent. Frye has played fewer than 20 minutes in four of the Suns’ eight games this season. Morris is a superior defender, athlete and shot-blocker. As the Suns enter rebuilding mode, the 28-year old Frye isn’t going to have much leash against the 22-year-old rookie.

THUNDER
Position: Power forward
Serge Ibaka has not topped 22 minutes in any of his last four games and has earned 30-plus minutes just twice all season. Don’t count on this rotation suddenly changing. Over the last few seasons, no one has been as consistent as Scott Brooks with his minutes dispersal.

Nick Collison, averaging 21 minutes per game, was handed a four-year/$11 million deal with a $6.5 million signing bonus last year for a reason. And as talented as Ibaka is, he still only got 29.2 minutes per game over the final 28 games of last season. That’s the ceiling going forward thanks to all of the Thunder’s depth. He’s still blocking 2.2 shots per game, good for fifth in the league.

TIMBERWOLVES
Position: Point guard
Ricky Rubio could barely get on the floor for his own club team in Spain. He showed a poor jump-shot and little 3-point range. Well, that’s all changed during his first nine games in Minnesota. Rubio’s game clearly fits the NBA’s mold better.

Rubio averaging 7.4 assists off the bench while playing just 28.2 minutes. Starter Luke Ridnour is averaging 3.4 assists while playing 29.2 minutes. Rubio has also shown a surprisingly capable 3-point shot, going 8-of-16 from beyond so far. That’s eight more than many thought he would make this season. Look for Rubio to ascend to true starter’s minutes by the time the All-Star break rolls around.
 
TRAIL BLAZERS
Position: Point guard
The Blazers have successfully gone from a slow, half-court team to one of the more fast-paced and athletic units in the league. Raymond Felton has been left behind.

Felton has played fewer than 30 minutes three times already this season. He’s averaging 0.6 steals, 0.4 3-pointers and 2.9 turnovers. Is his spot in the rotation in jeopardy? Not a chance. Felton is the only true NBA point guard on the roster and he always plays his way into shape during the season. A career 41.1 percent shooter, he’s shooting 34.8 percent so far this year. Things are going to get much better quickly, setting up 33-35 minutes per game and a nice buy-low candidate in fantasy.

WARRIORS
Position: Small forward
We knew Dorell Wright would come back to earth some this year. New coach Mark Jackson is putting some level of emphasis on defense, unlike the previous regime. And players that break out in their seventh NBA season often end up as flukes.

But the start to Wright’s season defies any reasonable expectation. He’s shooting 32.7 percent from the field and 18.5 percent from 3-point range. He’s gone gun-shy, attempting just 6.5 shots per game after getting 14.0 up last year. Unless Wright can bust out this week, the Warriors will be forced to make a move.

Enter Brandon Rush. Horribly underutilized in Indiana, Rush is a powerful defender and elite 3-point shooter. He’s making 1.4 3-pointers and getting 0.9 blocks and 0.9 steals so far this season despite playing only 24.5 minutes per night. Once promoted to the starting gig over Wright, there’s going to be a ton of upside here with 30-32 minutes per game.

* The Clippers are not listed as they are the only Western Conference team without any true question marks in their rotation.