Depth charts are helpful for fantasy basketball managers for a number of different reasons. Teams often shift NBA starting lineups and rotations based on injury, rest or opponent. Those changes can result in changes to fantasy basketball output for certain players, which could shift the course of a weekly matchup or even season-long standings.
That's why it's important for fantasy basketball managers to pay attention to depth charts. Whether it's before your NBA fantasy draft or well into the season, changes matter and can shift your strategy in an instant. RotoWire is constantly updating depth charts based on the latest news and can become a single source on how to shape your team and decide who to go after via trades and free agency.
Why NBA Depth Charts Matter in Fantasy Basketball
It's no surprise that players like Nikola Jokic, Victor Wembanyama and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander–who have the highest NBA fantasy ADP this season, will be in the starting lineup each night they're healthy. But there are a number of role players who often step into starting lineups from time to time, and that can change their short-term NBA projections on a nightly basis.
Even preseason play can change both depth charts and rotations, so you'll want to pay attention to those updates even as you're building your NBA fantasy draft cheat sheet. That matters specifically for rookies as well as bad teams with plenty of open spots in their lineup and rotation.
How to Read and Apply Depth Charts for Lineup Decisions
Just because someone is out doesn't necessarily mean the player directly behind them will step into the starting lineup. Teams may opt to play bigger or smaller while keeping bench players in that same role. Fantasy basketball managers can assume, however, that the backup will step into a larger role. You can move those players up in your short-term fantasy basketball rankings, but make sure to click on individual players to see whether they'll be in a starting spot or keeping their current role.
Depth charts shouldn't be the determining factor for whether you put someone into your own starting lineup. But it does factor in, especially if the team has injury or rest concerns. Use it along with other tools that RotoWire provides to help make decisions on who to enter into your lineup–and consider targeting players in trades or on the waiver wire if it looks like a change to the depth chart will be permanent.
Why RotoWire Has the Best NBA Depth Charts for Fantasy Basketball
Part of RotoWire's fantasy basketball draft kit includes consistent updates to NBA depth charts. This gives fantasy basketball managers the most current status of each team's starting lineup and rotation, which can help with building your own lineup to accrue the best possible stats.
RotoWire also includes the NBA injury report status of all players, so you can see if one player is doubtful to play that night–thus moving up the player behind him into a larger role. All players are hyperlinked to their bio, so you can easily check their most recent games and any analysis from RotoWire's experts about them. It's something that fantasy basketball managers should check each night because of how deep the analysis and updates go.
Depth charts are critical in determining the role that someone may play in a given night. With RotoWire, you'll get the current depth chart of every team, injury status of banged-up players, and links to check in on the latest news and analysis of each player.
It's a one-stop shop to help you make both short-term lineup decisions and long-term acquisitions. Members who subscribe to RotoWire will get access to those depth charts and be in better shape to make more informed decisions that give them the best chance of success.
