Jusuf

Nurkic

Nurkic scored at least 14 points in four straight games to end the regular season and nearly wound up with a double-double here. The 30-year-old big put together some solid stat lines even when Mark Williams played on several occasions. Nurkic has one year remaining on his four-year, $70 million contract he signed with the Suns in 2022. His role for next year in Charlotte is up in the air and it would not be surprising if he were dealt.

Diabate is back after missing two games due to illness. Mark Williams is out so that rotation minutes will be available. And that may be conservative, as expected starter Jusuf Nurkic has exceeded 25 minutes three times since joining the Nuggets in February.

Bridges and Williams will be unavailable for Charlotte’s season finale, opening up two spots in the starting lineup. Tidjane Salaue and Jusuf Nurkic are the likely starters, with Moussa Diabate (illness, questionable) also factoring into the center rotation if he’s allowed to play. Bridges performed to expectation this season, providing sixth-round value in eight-cat formats. While Williams exceeded his Yahoo! ADP (102), injuries limited him to 44 appearances. The young center possesses a high fantasy ceiling, but the injury history makes him challenging to trust in competitive leagues.

Diabate will miss a second straight contest after being listed as questionable on the initial injury report. Taj Gibson played 18 minutes off the bench on Wednesday, but that was due to the Hornets also being without Mark Williams. Williams is available, so look for him to absorb those minutes and take some away from Jusuf Nurkic.

Williams will be available after sitting out Wednesday’s loss to the Raptors. His return means Jusuf Nurkic heads to the bench, with the veteran center providing limited fantasy value when backing up Williams.

Nurkic moved into the starting lineup with Mark Williams out and had a huge game in his absence. The Hornets lost by 30, but the 30-year-old center put up 26 points in 26 minutes. Nurkic also added nine rebounds and four assists to his line. It’s not going to get much better than that for Nurkic at this point in his career. He could be an option in active leagues again if Williams misses another game this week.

Mark Williams, Miles Bridges and Josh Okogie are unavailable for Wednesday’s game, opening up three spots in the Hornets’ starting lineup. Smith, Salaun and Nurkic will fill the voids, and all three are worth slotting into lineups in active leagues due to Charlotte’s lengthy injury list.

Bridges and Williams will get a day off after suiting up against Memphis on Tuesday. Tidjane Salaun and Jusuf Nurkic could benefit from their absences against Toronto.

After missing Friday’s loss to the Kings, Williams was back in the starting lineup on Sunday. He held his own in the matchup with Nikola Vucevic, falling one rebound shy of a double-double while shooting well over 50 percent from the field. While the Hornets play four games during the final week of the regular season, it begins with a Tuesday/Wednesday back-to-back. Williams managers whose leagues will be active should plan for him missing one of those games. As a result, Jusuf Nurkic (18 points, three rebounds, one block and two three-pointers in 16 minutes) could make another start before the season ends.

Okogie and Williams will replace DaQuan Jeffries and Jusuf Nurkic for Sunday’s game. Williams is returning from a one-game absence, while Okogie will simply be swapping spots in the rotation with Jeffries. It’s unclear how much Okogie will play, but Williams should carry his usual starter workload.