Charlotte

Hornets

Salaün is dealing with a sore left hip. While he is not positioned to affect fantasy basketball, the second-year forward would be missing out on rotation minutes off the bench if he cannot play on Sunday.

Mann’s absence will hit six games on Sunday. While his injury alone would not affect fantasy basketball, the Hornets are also without LaMelo Ball and Collin Sexton. KJ Simpson will continue to start at point guard, while multiple players take on additional playmaking responsibilities, including Kon Knueppel and Miles Bridges.

Sexton will miss a fourth straight game as he continues to deal with a strained left quad. With LaMelo Ball and Tre Mann also out, the Hornets have given rookies Sion James and Kon Knueppel more time on the ball as playmakers, with the latter already in the starting lineup. Knueppel can still be found on some 12-team league waiver wires; do not hesitate to add him if he’s available.

Sunday’s game will be the third that Ball has missed since suffering a bone bruise in his left ankle. KJ Simpson has been the replacement in the starting lineup, but Sion James has also seen more time on the ball despite coming off the bench. Both players offer limited fantasy ceilings, with Simpson being the slightly better option in the short term.

While Miller did provide a complete stat line on Friday, the field-goal percentage remains an issue. He shot 2-of-8 from beyond the arc against the Bulls and made just under 50 percent of his two-point attempts. For the season, Miller is shooting 36.6 percent from the field, which is why he’s ranked outside the top-150 in eight-cat formats. Hopefully, he can turn it around in time, because Miller’s fantasy value suffers for that reason.

Green saw his first action of the season on Friday, so neither the minutes nor the production should be surprising. And his fantasy prospects moving forward don’t look all that promising, as Kon Knueppel has established himself as a key building block, and Sion James (14/4/1 with two three-pointers) offers a higher offensive ceiling than Green. While his defensive ability should get him on the floor, there’s no need to consider rostering Green in redraft leagues.

Despite the defeat, the Hornets had to be thrilled by what they saw from Knueppel on Friday. While he was efficient in recording a career-high point total, the rookie also did a good job of helping Charlotte compensate for LaMelo Ball’s absence. Knueppel matched his season-high in assists while committing only two turnovers. He’s still rostered in 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues, which is too low for a rookie of Knueppel’s caliber.

It’s safe to say that Bridges has snapped out of the mini-slump he found himself in after dropping 35 points on the Raptors back on November 29. He finished Friday’s defeat with his fifth 30-point game of the season, one shy of his total for the 2024-25 campaign. With LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller having missed extended time due to injury, Bridges has been one of the Hornets’ few constants in fantasy basketball this season. The Hornets end Week 8 with a road game against the Cavaliers on Sunday.

Initially questionable for Friday’s game, Diabaté was upgraded to probable earlier in the day. He’s now officially available to play, which will impact the Hornets’ center rotation. Mason Plumlee will likely fall out of the rotation entirely, but this does not affect fantasy basketball.

Diabaté sat out Sunday’s matchup with Denver, which allowed Mason Plumlee to join the rotation. With Diabaté expected to play, he could reclaim his role as Charlotte’s primary backup center, leaving fewer minutes available for Plumlee.