Portland Trail Blazers point guard Dennis Smith Jr. (knee) has been ruled out for Friday's game against Charlotte due to right knee inflammation, his third consecutive outing on the sidelines. Smith had been receiving a whopping minutes allotment with CJ McCollum (lung) down, but his absence now paves the way for Anfernee Simons and Ben McLemore to see elevated minutes totals Friday. It's unclear what type of role that Smith could play when the Blazers have all their backcourt members healthy, which keeps him in a brief window of short-term season-long viability. His next chance to take the floor comes Sunday vs. the Grizzlies.

Portland Trail Blazers guard Dennis Smith Jr. (knee) is listed as questionable for Friday's game against the Charlotte Hornets. He was held out of Wednesday's loss due to right knee inflammation. Although, Smith probably won't have much of a role in the rotation with Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons back on the court. That being said, Smith can be left on the waiver wire in most formats.