Toward the end of every season, we see a number of young players who suddenly get increased playing time due to a range of factors. Stars may be shutdown or rested (i.e. Carmelo Anthony), and coaches may give greater opportunity to younger players to see if they will be in the team’s future plans.

Last season’s prime example of this was Gorgui Dieng, who over the final 18 games of the season averaged 12.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 steal. Consequently, Dieng helped many an owner take out their championship in head-to-head leagues and would have been a crucial addition in rotisserie leagues too.

With the All-Star Weekend over and the last two months of the season upon us, here are some young players who may receive increased opportunity. Put them on your watch list, and keep them in the back of your mind as we get closer to the end of the fantasy season.

Rotisserie leagues can often be branded as boring and mundane, largely because they do not bring the intense weekly battle that can often be decided late on a Sunday night.

They are played over a full NBA fantasy season comprising of 25 weeks. Team standings in rotisserie leagues can regularly get lost in the scheme of a whole season without weekly competition and comparison. Furthermore, the standings are usually skewed due to the number of games each team has played, and this can often complicate the process of knowing where your team stands overall.

Because rotisserie leagues rank fantasy teams based on their season-long production, both the short- and long-term performance of your team, needs to be accounted for. In competitive leagues, a whole fantasy season could come down to the final weeks, days, or perhaps games, to determine the overall winner.

This is why it’s important to maintain a clear understanding of how not only your team, but every team in your league, is performing throughout the season.

Let’s go over how this can be done.