Terry

Taylor

It’s unclear why Taylor won’t be with the team for the game, but his absence won’t have much of an impact on the team’s rotation.

White was questionable coming into this game, but he will be available, which means that he still hasn’t missed a game this season. Craig hasn’t played since December 16th, and he is expected to have a restriction of 20 minutes. He should still play a large role off the bench, but he likely won’t play enough to provide standard league value.

After joining the Bulls on a two-way deal back in February, Taylor will return to the Windy City on a standard deal. He appeared in a total of 31 games for the Pacers and Bulls last season, averaging 2.9 points and 1.5 rebounds in 8.5 minutes. The good news for Taylor is that he’ll be on a standard deal next season, likely for the league minimum. The bad is that his place within the Bulls’ rotation is unlikely to change much, if at all. Taylor’s return will not impact fantasy basketball.

Tee Swizzle logged a healthy 21.6 minutes per contest as a rookie, but he’s all but fallen out of Indiana’s rotation in Year 2. In Taylor, the Pacers get a guy who can play guard, forward and yes - even some small ball center. He’s not likely to see enough playing time to warrant fantasy consideration in most formats, but he’ll provide some nice depth and versatility for a Bulls team looking to make a playoff appearance. The Pacers waived Malcolm Hill in a subsequent move.

Taylor has been a pleasant surprise for the Pacers this season, and he has earned himself a multi-year deal this season. He made his debut in January, and has since averaged 9.6 points per game with 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game.

Taylor hasn’t been in the rotation most nights, and the Pacers needed to free up a roster spot to accommodate their new additions. Taylor’s exit will not impact fantasy basketball.

I-Jax finishes his night with eight points, five boards, an assist and a steal across 13 minutes. If he’s forced to miss time moving forward, expect Terry Taylor and Goga Bitadze to see some extra playing time.

Rick Carlisle alluded to the possibility of making changes to the starting lineup after Friday’s loss to the Spurs, and he’s followed through. Nesmith and Jackson are in, with Chris Duarte and Terry Taylor moving to the bench. The changes enhance the fantasy values of Nesmith and Jackson, with the latter’s promotion being long-awaited by many fantasy managers.

With an ADP of 40.6, this isn’t the ideal start for fantasy managers that drafted Turner. Terry Taylor got the start for Turner in their first game and posted a line of 8/2/1/2/1. In deeper leagues, Taylor may be a fine streaming option just based off the opportunity if he continues to start. Isaiah Jackson played 16 minutes and Goga Bitadze played 10, which lined up perfectly with Jalen Smith’s 22 minutes to equal 48 center minutes. Hopefully they get the rotation figured out with more time to prepare, because a three-way time share at center isn’t helping anybody.

Talk about bad luck. Turner stepped on a ball boy’s foot, which caused him to miss opening night. We’ll know more after today, but early reports suggest that he won’t miss much time. Indiana wants to keep their star center healthy, whether it is to trade him or keep him. He was held out of that game, but he shouldn’t miss many more with this injury. This shouldn’t be a cause for concern. Terry Taylor started in his place, so the concern is that Turner’s absence didn’t lead to a start for Isaiah Jackson or Goga Bitadze.