Miles Bridges

It's safe to say that Bridges has snapped out of the mini-slump he found himself in after dropping 35 points on the Raptors back on November 29. He finished Friday's defeat with his fifth 30-point game of the season, one shy of his total for the 2024-25 campaign. With LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller having missed extended time due to injury, Bridges has been one of the Hornets' few constants in fantasy basketball this season. The Hornets end Week 8 with a road game against the Cavaliers on Sunday.

Bridges posted 24 points (10-19 FG, 0-6 3Pt, 4-6 FT), nine rebounds, eight assists and one steal across 37 minutes during Sunday's 115-106 loss to the Nuggets.

The Hornets are without LaMelo Ball and Collin Sexton for Sunday's game, so Simpson has received the starting nod. While his season-long production has not made him worth the risk in fantasy leagues, the opportunity to start raises Simpson's fantasy ceiling. The other four starters are unchanged, and Kalkbrenner's playing time may increase with Moussa Diabate unavailable.

Miller's return will unsurprisingly push Sion James back to the bench. Also, after a one-game swap, Moussa Diabate will head back to the bench, with Kalkbrenner returning to the starting lineup, though both bigs will continue to split the minutes at center.

Wednesday's start will be the first for Diabate since November 14, and the lineup change raises his fantasy ceiling. His promotion comes at the expense of Ryan Kalkbrenner, who will still see solid time off the bench. However, Kalkbrenner is more valuable to fantasy managers when he's starting.