NBA Player News

Smith will get the start with Cody Martin sidelined, though Steve Clifford mentioned that Miller and Nick Smith Jr. will also take on the ball handling role in this game. Smith should be able to provide a handful of assists, but he doesn’t produce much else with any consistency.

Richards was injured during Charlotte’s November 1 loss to the Celtics and has not played since. His status won’t be updated until after the Hornets’ upcoming road trip concludes on November 17. With Mark Williams (foot) also out, Charlotte is left with Grant Williams and Taj Gibson to man the middle. Moussa Diabate adds depth, but Gibson started Monday’s game in Minnesota.

Brown will miss a third straight game, and pinpointing his replacement in the starting lineup won’t be simple. Luke Kornet started the first game, and Neemias Queta the second, starting alongside Al Horford. Whichever player Joe Mazzulla chooses to fill the void will have deep-league streaming value. Brown is considered day-to-day, and his injury is not long-term.

Smith was also probable for Monday’s loss to the Jazz, ultimately playing 15 minutes as Nikola Vucevic’s backup. Expect a similar workload for Stix on Wednesday, and that isn’t enough to make him a viable option in fantasy leagues.

Giddey and Williams are back on the injury report, but the probable tag suggests they’ll be available. The former’s status is significantly more impactful to fantasy basketball, while Williams’ value did not increase much on Monday despite the Bulls being without Zach LaVine.

Embiid got into a verbal altercation with a columnist who’d written a critical column on the former MVP, making mention of his deceased brother and young son. That led to Embiid shoving the writer before the two were separated. Embiid’s suspension won’t begin until he’s medically cleared to return from the knee injury that has kept him from appearing in any games this season.

LaVine sat out Monday’s loss to the Jazz, with Ayo Dosunmu replacing him in the starting lineup. Dosunmu would be worth streaming if LaVine cannot play against Dallas, as he logged 35 minutes and scored 25 points on Monday.

Nembhard was back in the lineup on Monday after a one-game absence, starting and playing 29 minutes in a win over the Mavericks. If he cannot play against Orlando, T.J. McConnell and Jarace Walker will see an increase in playing time.

Gordon only played four minutes on Monday night before exiting, which gave us a good look at what things will look like with Peyton Watson filling the void. He finished with 16 points, three rebounds, one assist, two steals, two blocks and a 3-pointer in 31 minutes, which makes him a high-priority streaming option for the next few weeks. Hunter Tyson should be the backup power forward, though he didn’t do much in his 15 minutes on Monday.

Both guys missed Monday’s game, though Love has yet to play at all this season. Josh Richardson and Alec Burks should once again soak up the reserve minutes on the wing, while Nikola Jovic and Pelle Larsson will fill out some of the frontcourt minutes. Larsson is coming off playing 25 minutes in their last game, though he has largely been stuck on the bench this season.

Another absence for Carter Jr. should mean another start for Goga Bitadze, who logged 27 minutes on Monday. Bitadze contributed 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block during his time on the floor and should be considered as a streaming option until WCJ returns. Moritz Wagner can be considered in deep leagues, since he finished with nine points, seven rebounds, one assist, two steals and a block in 21 minutes off the bench. Neither are great options, but they will have some boosted stats as long as Carter Jr. is out.