Miles

Bridges

After missing the regular season’s first ten games due to a league suspension, Bridges posted gaudy individual numbers for one of the NBA’s worst teams. Charlotte refrained from trading him at the February deadline, and Bridges will be an unrestricted free agent on June 30. According to Fischer, Bridges is expected to command at least $30 million per year in his new deal, and Charlotte would open to a sign-and-trade if the right opportunity presented itself. After pleading no contest to domestic violence charges in 2023, Bridges was sentenced to three years of probation. Three charges in connection to an alleged violation of a protective order taken out by the mother of Bridges’ children were dismissed in February 2024.

The Hornets have nothing to play for beyond improving their draft lottery odds, which means Miller and Bridges are out. The second-overall pick in last summer’s draft, Miller’s production improved noticeably once he entered the starting lineup. The rookie provided 10th-round per-game value in 8- and 9-cat formats for the season but was a top-75 player over the last three months. As for Bridges, his preseason ADP sunk like a stone due to legal issues and a 10-game suspension to begin the season. Once on the court, he provided solid fantasy value, finishing as a 5th-round player in 8- and 9-cat formats. He will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Bridges and Miller were absent from the initial report released by the Hornets. However, there isn’t much to be gained from either playing against the Cavaliers, as Charlotte is returning to the draft lottery regardless of the game’s outcome. Nick Smith Jr., Tre Mann, and Vasilije Micic aren’t on the injury report, with the first two likely shouldering a significant workload on Sunday (Micic only played 16 minutes on Friday).

After a below-average performance from Bridges against the Thunder in their last game, he got back on track in this one. Bridges has been a strong scoring option all season, and he has been able to provide enough value in other categories to nearly rank inside the top-50 in 9-cat leagues. They’ll head to Atlanta for the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday, and Bridges scored 27 when they played the Hawks in March. There’s no reason to think that he won’t continue to pour in the points over their final three games of the season.

Bridges was one of two Hornets starters back in the lineup after sitting out Wednesday’s loss to Portland, with point guard Vasilije Micic being the other. He made up for lost time on Friday, surpassing the 20-point mark for the fourth consecutive game he’s appeared in. Over the past two weeks, Bridges has provided 6th-round per-game value in 8-cat and 7th-round value in 9-cat formats. He’ll look to end Week 23 on a high note when the Hornets host the Thunder on Sunday.

While Miller has not missed time due to his injury, Bridges sat out Wednesday’s loss to the Trail Blazers. His return means Davis Bertans will head back to the bench, where he does not offer much fantasy value. Outside of extremely deep leagues, there’s no need to roster Bertans.

Bridges was sidelined for their last game, but their top two options over the past few months should be available. Davis Bertans and JT Thor will likely both be pushed back to the bench with Bridges and Vasilije Micic back.

Bridges was downgraded to doubtful earlier in the day, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that he has now officially been ruled out for this game. Aleksej Pokusevski and Davis Bertans are two candidates to fill out Bridges’ starting spot, though both should see extended minutes.

Williams hasn’t missed a game since arriving in Charlotte, and it looks like his streak of availability will be extended. Miller hasn’t missed a game since March 1, and both players should be in line for sizeable roles against Portland. Vasilije Micic (shoulder) and Nick Richards (foot) are both out, and Miles Bridges (ankle) is doubtful, opening up additional opportunities for Williams and Miller.

Charlotte will be shorthanded at PF and C once again, and Grant Williams could get another start at center. Aleksej Pokusevski should see more minutes in the frontcourt, but he’s a high-risk streaming option. Williams is the safer play of the two.