Editor's Note: This is Insider's weekly series that identifies and analyzes tendencies or trends exhibited by five players.
Things change fast in this league, and depending on the team and situation, some trends can mean the difference between a spot in the starting five and a DNP-CD.
Just look at the Minnesota Timberwolves' Derrick Williams, a player whose struggles we touched on last week; once Kevin Love made his season debut against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, Williams appeared in only one of the Timberwolves' next three games for a grand total of 11 minutes.
Sure, a demotion was inevitable upon Love's return, but had the former No. 2 overall pick been playing better, it would have likely been impossible to keep him off the court. As it stands now, we have to wonder how much of a role Williams will have going forward.
This week, we take a look at five other players who are trending in different directions: