Cody Zeller expected to be back in the lineup when the Hornets play the Bulls on Friday

Charlotte Hornets center has been upgraded to probable for Friday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls according to the Hornets PR team and a confusing Tweet from Adrian Wojnarowski.

Zeller has been out since the second half of the Hornets first game of the season. Without him, the Hornets have given almost all of the center minutes to Bismack Biyombo and PJ Washington. Minutes with the former have gone poorly, to say the least.

Zeller’s return will provide a significant offensive upgrade over Biz when the Hornets elect use a more traditional lineup. Zeller is much more of a threat with the ball in his hands than Biz is, and he’s a better-than-average passer for a center. He’s also a bit better defending on the perimeter, though he is a downgrade on the boards (not that it particularly matters at this point).

It’ll be interesting to see how James Borrego decides to allocate center minutes with Zeller back in the fold. Lineups with Washington at center have done extremely well, and the Hornets would be wise to keep giving those combinations extended run instead of having one of Biyombo or Zeller on the court at all times.