Hornets vs. Celtics Wednesday NBA injury report, spread, odds: LaMelo Ball, Robert Williams expected back; Kelly Oubre, Marcus Smart could play

The Charlotte Hornets were upset winners at the New York Knicks on Monday afternoon without star point guard LaMelo Ball and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Kelly Oubre but will have Ball back and perhaps Oubre as well Wednesday when they visit the Celtics. Boston expects to have starting center Robert Williams in the lineup after he missed a game for personal reasons. Guard Marcus Smart is questionable. The C's are -3.5 at Caesars Sportsbook.

News broke about an hour before Monday's game that Ball was dealing with a non-COVID illness. He technically was available to play but was a DNP-CD by coach James Borrego. The Hornets were never really threatened in the 97-87 victory, so it made sense to keep Ball on the bench. The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year could be a first-team All-Star, averaging 19.4 points, 7.6 assists and 7.2 rebounds.

Ball is averaging 62.4 passes made per game, which ranks fifth in the NBA and is ninth in assists points created at 19.3. He's also one of 13 players this season with a line of 30-5-5 in four or more games.

As for Oubre, he's averaging 16.6 points and is a +1600 second-favorite to Miami's Tyler Herro (-550) to win Sixth Man of the Year – Herro's going to win it unless he gets hurt and misses a ton of games, but Oubre is having a nice season. He and Herro are the only players with multiple games of 30 points off the bench. Oubre has cleared COVID protocols but is questionable as the team determines his conditioning level. Prior to being sidelined four games, Oubre had averaged 18.0 points in 24.3 minutes per game over his last seven appearances.

Boston's Williams missed Monday's win over New Orleans due to the birth of his child, but he's expected to play Wednesday. He's averaging 10.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks. Smart was in COVID protocols but that he's listed as questionable instead of out would seem to indicate he has cleared those but may need another game off due to conditioning like Oubre.

Charlotte lost to the visiting Celtics 140-129 in overtime on Oct. 25. Jayson Tatum had 31 points, Jaylen Brown 30 and Williams 12 points and 16 rebounds. Ball had 25 points and nine assists and Oubre 19 points. The Hornets also have lost nine straight games in Boston. 

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