Grant

Williams

Williams was helped to the locker room on Saturday night after not being able to put any weight on his knee following a drive to the basket. Now, he isn’t expected to return this season. With Mark Williams and Nick Richards still out, Moussa Diabate should be considered a must-add as the only option at center.

Williams was injured with a little over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when his right knee buckled on a drive to the basket. He immediately signaled to the Hornets bench for assistance and could not put any weight on the leg while being helped to the locker room. The Hornets are already without Mark Williams and Nick Richards; they cannot afford to lose Grant Williams. Moussa Diabate is the player to target if Grant misses time.

Sure, both centers are back with the team. There was no update indicating that they weren’t with the team, but they’re now back with the team. There is also still nothing indicating when they’ll be back in the lineup. The expectations for Charlotte to communicate injuries are low, so this is, once again, not really an update. Grant Williams and Moussa Diabate are still the center options until the other two return, whenever that may be.

Rostered in 25% of Yahoo leagues, Williams has been a top 75 player in 9-cat formats over the last two weeks. While he may not be the most exciting fantasy player, the circumstances make Williams worth the risk, especially in deep leagues. He’s worth streaming as long as the Hornets are without Mark Williams and Nick Richards, and both lack a concrete timeline for return.

Initial reports indicated that Briges would miss at least two weeks, but he will be able to play after missing a little over a week. Both Grant Williams and Tidjane Salaun have seen starts in his place, but they’ll both return to playing reserve roles in this game.

At the time of his injury, Bridges was projected to be sidelined for at least two weeks. If he can play on Saturday, that would be a little over one week on the sideline for the Hornets forward. With Bridges sidelined, the Hornets have started Tidjane Salaun (two games) and Grant Williams (one game), with the latter providing some deep-league streaming value. There wouldn’t be a need to consider streaming Williams with Bridges in the lineup.

Williams is the lone change to the Hornets’ starting lineup, replacing rookie Tidjane Salaun. While this gives Williams’ fantasy value a slight boost, he is not worth streaming in most fantasy leagues.

Good news for the Hornets as Charlotte will be without Miles Bridges. Miller, Williams and LaMelo Ball should all see increased usage without Bridges. Williams is on the streaming radar in deeper formats.

With Miles Bridges (knee) already sidelined, Miller’s status is critical for Charlotte due to the absence of one of its top offensive weapons. The probable tag suggests Miller will be available against the Pacers. As for Williams, while he did come off the bench in Wednesday’s win over Detroit, he played more minutes than starter Taj Gibson and still has deep-league streaming value.

Richards will miss a second straight game after injuring his shoulder during Friday’s loss to the Celtics. Grant Williams started on Saturday and should remain in that role, with Moussa Diabate as the backup.