Charlotte Hornets DVOA, Stats, & NBA Rankings

Charlotte Hornets guard/forward Brandon Miller (back) has been ruled out for Friday's contest against Philadelphia. Seth Curry will start in his place. Miller has been downgraded from a questionable status after he wasn't even on the original injury report, which is a strange turn of events. However, Curry won't complain, as he gets a chance to make his fourth start of the campaign. The veteran sniper gets a slight boost in fantasy value with the promotion to the starting unit, but it takes a brave manager to trust Curry. It's also a bad matchup for a three-point specialist like him, as the 76ers are allowing the sixth-fewest three-point makes in the league this season.

Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams (back) has been upgraded from probable to available for Friday's tilt against the Philadelphia 76ers. After logging 30 minutes in Thursday's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, Williams is good to go on the second half of Charlotte's back-to-back despite dealing with a lower back contusion. Having grown up in North Carolina, the 25-year-old stretch four has carved out a sizable bench role with the 15-44 Hornets and is providing 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.1 three-pointers on 37.8% shooting from deep in 28.1 minutes per game in eight contests since landing at the Feb. 8 trade deadline. Williams is worth streaming in fantasy for points and threes as Charlotte's sixth man on Friday, but with this matchup versus the Sixers showing a low 214.5-point implied total, it's probably not the suitable game environment to be digging into the bargain bin for DFS purposes.

Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams (back) is probable for Friday's matchup against Philadelphia. The former Celtic is troubled by a lower back contusion, but it looks like he will be able to play through the ailment. Williams has been in the lineup for eight consecutive games for the Hornets, and he's found a new lease of life in Charlotte following his disappointing stint in Dallas. Williams has averaged 13.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 28.1 minutes with the Hornets while leading the second unit. However, Friday's game might not be a good matchup for him because Philadelphia has a good defensive record against opposing benches, with only six teams having allowed fewer bench points.

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (ankle) hasn't appeared in a game since January 26 due to what the team is calling tendinopathy in his right ankle. Head coach Steve Clifford was asked about Ball's progress over the last couple of weeks and he said, "It's hard to tell." He also added that Ball has been doing the same things now that he was doing a couple of weeks back, but there are more complications that he has to get through before he's ready to return to action. Clifford didn't offer up much else other than continuing to say that he wasn't sure when Ball would return. With the NBA season quickly getting into the final stages before playoffs, it's becoming more and more likely that we aren't going to see Ball for the rest of this season. Fantasy managers will want to stay tuned for any more updates out of the Hornets camp.

Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball (ankle) is officially listed as out ahead of the team's game Thursday against the Bucks. The 22-year-old will miss his 16th-straight game due to the ankle ailment, despite having returned to practice a week ago. Given the trajectory of Charlotte's season, the organization is likely prioritizing his long-term health. Tre Mann should continue to start in his place, and Ball's next opportunity to play will be on Sunday in Toronto. Ball maintains impressive season averages of 23.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 8.0 assists in 32.3 minutes per game.