2026-27 Nba Minutes Report: Injuries To Lauri Markkanen, Stephen Curry Impact Western Conference Landscape

Welcome to the NBA 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 and what their impact has been. That can help you with any fantasy basketball decisions you may need to make, but also help you get a lay of the land on what's happening around the NBA and which players are gaining or losing value.

The charts below are also great for exploring on your own. You can track the minutes over the last three, five, 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

Not much has changed for the Hawks since the start of the season. Offseason additions Lu Dort and Aaron Wiggins are playing key minutes in the rotation, and rookie Kingston Flemings has seen his minutes tick up as he's moved into the starting lineup over CJ McCollum. McCollum is still producing as a primary scorer off the bench, but his overall minutes and numbers have been down since the change.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics' rotation has been unchanged so far this season. Same as last week, Neemias Queta is playing far more minutes than newly-signed Mitchell Robinson. Robinson's fit in Joe Mazzulla's system seems tenuous right now. His rebounding numbers are down, particularly on the offensive glass where he is so dangerous, and the Celtics have been far better with him off the court. It's a situation they'll need to figure out.

Brooklyn Nets

Yes, that is Danny Wolf leading the Nets in minutes of late. He has moved into the starting lineup and is averaging 10.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists over his last five games. He and Day'Ron Sharpe have been good together, giving the Nets a clear rebounding edge. We should expect to see the two of them get a decent amount of minutes. We've also seen Egor Demin return in the last week, and his role should continue to grow as he ramps up.

Charlotte Hornets

Kon Knueppel returned from his hamstring injury, played six minutes, and then reaggravated the injury. He will be out for the next month at least, and Idetailed the fallout in a video I recorded on Monday.Brandon Miller is also dealing with a groin injury, and Dennis Schroder has a hamstring strain, so the Hornets are not in the best shape right now.

Chicago Bulls

Caleb Wilson suffered a hand injury on Wednesday and only played 15 minutes. It remains to be seen how long that might keep him sidelined. That would likely mean more usage for Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey. Norman Powell is also dealing with a shoulder injury, and his name has been mentioned in trade rumors already, so the Bulls seem unlikely to play him until he's fully healed. That said, Chicago did get Nic Claxton back, and his minutes should continue to tick up over the next few weeks at the expense of Jalen Smith.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The core of the Cavs rotation remains unchanged, but Sam Merrill is out with an elbow injury, which has led to more minutes for Meleek Thomas and Tyrese Proctor. Thomas looked good against the Knicks on Wednesday, and it would not be a surprise if he continued to play himself into a larger role.

Dallas Mavericks

Santi Aldama returned in the last week, which led to some minutes hits for all the big men, including P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford. That part of the rotation could get more crowded when Dereck Lively II (foot) returns as well. Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving continue to pace this offense, and Irecorded a video about how good Flagg has been this season.

Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets run a tight rotation, and not much has changed since last week. DeMar DeRozan is seeing his minutes trend down a bit as the core group gets more usage and Spencer Jones returned from his injury. DeRozan figures to be just an ancillary piece on this team, barring injury.

Detroit Pistons

The Pistons are another team with a narrow and consistent rotation. Isaiah Joe and Jalen Duren both remain sidelined, but Duren has begun on-court activities, so he could return from his hamstring injury in 2-3 weeks.

Golden State Warriors

Obviously the big news for the Warriors is last night's injury to Stephen Curry, which I wrote about on the website today. With Gary Payton II also out, Brandon Williams suffering a hamstring injury, and both Moses Moody and Jimmy Butler recovering from knee surgeries, the Warriors are very short-handed. We should expect to see a bump in minutes for De'Anthony Melton.

Houston Rockets

With Steven Adams and Clint Capela sidelined by injuries, the Rockets may have the narrowest rotation in the league. It seems that both players could return this weekend, so we'll see what that does to the frontcourt minutes in Houston.

Indiana Pacers

With Tyrese Haliburton (hamstring) still sidelined for another two weeks, the Pacers are relying a lot on Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith. The issue is that Nesmith left Wednesday's game with knee soreness and did not return. If he were to miss time, Kelly Oubre Jr. would figure to step into a larger role.

Los Angeles Clippers

We might be getting closer to seeing Brandon Ingram take the court for the Clippers, but that time has not yet come. That leaves the Clippers in a precarious situation. Brook Lopez's return has meant fewer minutes for Isaiah Jackson, and Derrick Jones Jr. has been playing big minutes alongside Darius Garland. There's not a lot to get excited about here.

Los Angeles Lakers

Walker Kessler has been a tremendous addition to the Lakers, and I covered his success in a video this week.He's the clear third option behind Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, and the rest of the team is ancillary pieces. Reaves did have X-rays on his heel, which came back negative, but he could still miss some time. Collin Sexton also had to get stitches in his forehead on Wednesday, so he may miss a game or two as that heals. If both Reaves and Sexton are out, that would lead to a bigger role for Quentin Grimes.

Memphis Grizzlies

Things are status quo from Memphis right now. Javon Small has moved into a role in the rotation, which has impacted the minutes for Cedric Coward, and Isaiah Stewart sat out for two games earlier in the week. It's possible that Kris Murray has just been phased out of the rotation.

Miami Heat

The Heat have a very narrow rotation, and there is little to be excited about except for consistent minutes for Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Bobby Portis Jr. has seen his minutes trend down, and Andrew Wiggins doesn't seem likely to supplant Pelle Larsson from the starting lineup. Klay Thompson is playing a lot of minutes, but he's not the same player he was a few years ago.

Milwaukee Bucks

I mentioned last week that Kel'el Ware and Ryan Rollins were getting far fewer minutes than I expected, and that has continued. I see no reason why the Bucks will change things up now, even if they should. Brayden Burries has been stepping into a bigger role in the starting lineup and is delivering, which I discussed in a video this week.

Minnesota Timberwolves

As the Timberwolves adjust to life without both Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo, they have given more minutes to Trey Lyles and Jaylen Clark. Terrance Shannon Jr. also missed a couple of games over the weekend but returned earlier this week. The Timberwolves are going to play their starting five for as many minutes as they can every night.

New Orleans Pelicans

The Pelicans have a deep rotation but none of it is that exciting. Dejounte Murray returned from his brief absence, but Jeremiah Fears continues to play a much larger role in this offense. Jordan Poole is now back and in the mix, but Bennedict Mathurin suffered a thumb sprain and could miss some time.

New York Knicks

The big story in New York is that Landry Shamet has seemingly supplanted Mikal Bridges in the rotation. Bridges will start and play minutes early, but he has seen very little time on the court in the second half and played just 17 minutes in each of the last two games. Deuce McBride and Tyler Kolek are also seeing more minutes as Bridges' role shrinks for the time being until he can get back on track. Josh Hart missed two games earlier in the week but returned on Wednesday.

Oklahoma City Thunder

We know how many injuries the Thunder are dealing with, but they got some reinforcements by trading for last year's Kings first-round pick Nique Clifford. Clifford figures to play just 15-20 minutes a game for the Thunder, but that is a locked-in part of the rotation. It's also a valuable role with Ajay Mitchell now dealing with a sprained ankle. Aday Mara has stepped into a bigger role without Chet Holmgren and looked really good in his rookie season.

Orlando Magic

The Magic continue to be one of the most injury-plagued teams. After dealing with injuries to Jalen Suggs and Paolo Banchero, the Magic now have Tristan da Silva out with a calf injury. That should lead to more minutes for Jase Richardson in the short term, but the usage will fall to Franz Wagner and Anthony Black.

Philadelphia 76ers

We knew these 76ers would battle some injuries during the season, and it's starting now. LeBron James is out on Thursday with a back injury, and Joel Embiid could miss this game with a foot injury. None of those figure to be major injuries, but with Dominick Barlow also still sidelined, it makes the 76ers just a little bit thinner than they'd like to be.

Phoenix Suns

Should the Suns play Collin Gillespie more? Yes, they need a true point guard. Will they? No, it doesn't seem like they will. Ryan Dunn has seen his minutes tick up, but this is an offense without a true floor general, and the results have been what you'd expect.

Portland Trail Blazers

With Ja Morant and Shaedon Sharpe sidelined, we've seen an uptick in minutes for Chris Youngblood. However, Youngblood missed Wednesday's game, which led to increased minutes for Damian Lillard and Jrue Holiday. The Trail Blazers would rather not have to consistently play both of those veterans over 30 minutes per game.

Sacramento Kings

Keegan Murray returned from his ankle injury and is right back to his normal role in the offense. Precious Achiuwa left Tuesday's game with a leg injury, but Dylan Cardwell was taking a lot of his minutes before that happened as well. Cardwell played 29 minutes in that game and should see his minutes totals rise because of his rebounding prowess.

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs are relatively healthy and very good. Devin Vassell is out with an adductor injury, and Tobias Harris remains sidelined with a calf injury, but both of them could suit up by the end of the week. The rest is status quo,

Toronto Raptors

Collin Murray-Boyles missed one game earlier this week, but he has played a bigger role with Kawhi Leonard sidelined and Scott Barnes also out with a groin injury. Alijah Martin has played more as a result of Barnes' injury, but it's not expected to sideline Barnes for too long.

Utah Jazz

The Jazz just lost Lauri Markkanen to a fractured hand after already losing Jaren Jackson Jr. to a knee injury. With Jusuk Nurkic also out with a toe injury, the Jazz are going to rely heavily on Darryn Peterson, Ace Bailey, and Keyonte George over the next few weeks. Jaxson Hayes also played 30 minutes in the first game without Markkanen, so expect that to continue.

Washington Wizards

With Justin Champagnie sidelined, the Wizards are running a bit of a shorter rotation. It's the same key names, and we should assume little will change if not for injury. Anthony Davis missed two games last week, which allowed Alex Sarr and Will Riley to play more minutes, but Davis has been great when he's on the court.