Noah

Vonleh

In a move that won’t impact fantasy whatsoever, Vonleh, who has played sparingly since the first few games of the season, ends up as a free agent. He can sign with another contending team, but he won’t find one with a large enough need for his services that he becomes a contributor in fantasy hoops. The Spurs waived Gorgui Dieng to make room for the trade, so both the Celtics and Spurs cleared a roster spot with this move.

The Celtics play on the second night of a back-to-back set, so we expect this injury is more about maintenance than anything serious. With the big man sidelined, expect Noah Vonleh, Luke Kornet and Blake Griffin to see upticks in playing time.

Kornet was a late scratch for Saturday’s win over the Knicks, and he did not make the trip to Memphis either. His absence means a few more minutes for Sam Hauser and Noah Vonleh, but neither is in a position to be streamed in most leagues.

With Al Horford (back) sidelined in Boston’s second game in as many nights, Griffin was tabbed to make his first start of the season. He logged just 15 minutes, with Noah Vonleh (seven points, seven rebounds, and one 3-pointer) getting 16 and Sam Hauser (17 points, three rebounds, two assists, and five 3-pointers) 21. Griffin wasn’t a great streaming option heading into Saturday’s action, and that will remain the case moving forward. Leave him on the waiver wire.

Horford was held out of Saturday’s win over Orlando, the Celtics’ second game in as many nights. His absence from the updated injury report means he’s good to go Monday night, the first of three games the Celtics will play this week. Noah Vonleh, who wasn’t a good streaming option despite starting on Saturday, will return to the bench. Boston’s next back-to-back is scheduled for November 4-5 (vs. CHI, at NYK).

Vonleh started due to Al Horford getting the night off, and the results weren’t all too surprising. Struggling with foul trouble, he played just 14 minutes, with Horford’s absence giving Grant Williams a boost instead. Williams played 31 minutes off the bench, shooting 3-of-3 from the field and the foul line and finishing with 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and three 3-pointers. The few managers who decided to stream Vonleh can drop him back onto the waiver wire. As for those who picked up Williams? Hold onto him, even though Horford is expected to be available for Monday’s game in Chicago.

With Al Horford getting the night off, Vonleh will make his first start in a Celtics uniform. This allows him to offer some value fantasy-wise, but this is also a difficult matchup due to Orlando’s interior depth. Vonleh’s worth a roll of the dice as a cheap DFS play, but managers should temper their expectations. There are no other changes to the Celtics’ starting lineup despite this being their second game in as many nights.

After a quiet performance on Friday night, Horford will not play the second leg of the back-to-back, despite reports that he would. Without much depth at center, Grant Williams and Noah Vonleh should see big minutes in this game, with one of them likely entering the starting unit. Joe Mazzulla could also look to Luke Kornet or Blake Griffin for a few minutes, but it won’t be enough to warrant a fantasy pickup.

Vonleh was the first reserve off the bench Tuesday night, as starting center Al Horford picked up two fouls within the first four minutes. While Vonleh, who hadn’t played in the NBA since a four-game run with the Nets during the 2020-21 season, wasn’t prolific, he wasn’t a liability. According to Jay King of The Athletic, this was the first time Vonleh’s played at least 20 minutes in an NBA game since December 28, 2019. He’s unlikely to take on this kind of workload very often, so there’s no need to consider picking him up.

He wasn’t waived by the 5 p.m. deadline on Saturday meaning his camp deal was converted to a non-guaranteed standard contract. And with Robert Williams out for the start of the season it’s possible that Vonleh might actually get some run for the Celtics.