EuroLeague Primer: Round 22 - Tuesday

EuroLeague Primer: Round 22 - Tuesday

This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.

PREGAME UPDATES

THE SLATE

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade at Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Status Check: Marko Simonovic (RED), Tibor Pleiss (IST)

Best Bets for Success: This game is not included on Tuesday's DraftKings slate, but we'll give it a quick rundown in case you use this article for the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge or other purposes. Shane Larkin and Vasilije Micic have both produced consistently in several categories in recent Rounds, and they're both in position to have another nice night Tuesday, as Red Star ranks in the bottom half of the league in nearly every category against opposing guards. Jordan Loyd looks like he's ready to reclaim the top spot for the visitors, as he scored 18 points over 23 minutes in the club's domestic league game Sunday.

DFS Darlings: The most intriguing name among the rest of the bunch is Efes' Dzanan Musa, who -- while his role is uncertain -- also had a strong showing in his club's last domestic contest. While Loyd's return will affect him to some degree, Ognjen Dobric has been playing very well for the Serbian squad. It's possible they can coexist, though, he did score 20 points in the same game in which Loyd scored the 18. 

FC Bayern Munich at Khimki Moscow Region

Status Check: Vladimir Lucic (MUN), Nihad Dedovic (MUN), Zan Sisko (MUN), Alexey Shved (KHI), Devin Booker (KHI), Janis Timma (KHI), Sergey Karasev (KHI)

Best Bets for Success: An available Shved will be Khimki's top option in just about every instance, and it looks like he will take the court Tuesday. Bayern has been pretty stout against opposing backcourt players, but Shved did nearly record a triple-double last time the teams met, and at just $12,000 he is returning the most average value on Tuesday's DraftKings slate. It's looking like Booker will not play Tuesday, and if that's the case, slide Jordan Mickey in here as well. He would be the team's only available center, and while he won't be Khimki's top option if Shved plays, he would be next in line. Bayern is also dealing with injury issues, and Lucic is back on the sidelines after a brief return. Jalen Reynolds and Wade Baldwin should both get more chances to score with Lucic out, and they both have extremely inviting matchups, as Khimki ranks last in a couple key categories against both guards and frontcourt players. 

DFS Darlings: As you probably could have guessed with Khimki involved, this game has easily the highest over/under on the slate. For that reason, and due to the absences and matchups, you can consider any, a couple or all of Nick Weiler-Babb, Paul Zipser and D.J. Seeley for the German team. None of the three will cost more than $7,300 on DraftKings. Shved's return dampens the prospects of Khimki's other backcourt players, but Dairis Bertans could play some forward and is cheap enough to consider at $5,000. Timma is expected to return along with Shved, and while it's unclear what is role will be, there are all kinds of minutes open in Khimki's frontcourt and he is providing some of the most average value on the slate at just $5,800.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

Status Check: Omri Casspi (TEL), Danilo Barthel (ULK)

Best Bets for Success: While he's struggled a bit in the scoring department of late, Scottie Wilbekin's track record lands him here for another Round. Wilbekin is due to snap out of his slump soon, and while Fenerbahce has a lot of quality guards to throw at him, he did drop 23 points last time the two sides squared off. Among the multiple options to consider here for the Turkish team, Jan Vesely will be the top one Tuesday. Maccabi has been one of the best when it comes to containing opposing guards, but one of the worst against players listed at the center position, which Vesely is. 

DFS Darlings: Kyle O'Quinn could make his Fenerbahce debut Tuesday, and while he's not included on the DraftKings slate, his participation alone would be enough to avoid any of the Turkish team's affordable options. Othello Hunter makes a nice option on DraftKings at just $7,300, as he averaged 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds over the last three Rounds and faces a Fenerbahce team that has not been too tough on the glass. With Casspi out, Maccabi will have a couple boom-or-bust options, too. Tyler Dorsey isn't as cheap as he was in last week's DraftKings contests, but he could get a chance to capitalize on last week's 30-point showing. Yovel Zoosman took a back seat to Dorsey last week, but he averaged just under 20 minutes over the last three Rounds and checks in at just $4,500.

Olympiacos Piraeus at AX Armani Exchange Milan

Status Check: Kostas Papanikolaou (OLY), Shavon Shields (MIL), Jeff Brooks (MIL), Michael Roll (MIL)

Best Bets for Success: The safest option in this one is easily Kostas Sloukas, who led his team in fantasy points four times over the last six Rounds and averaged 33.3 on DraftKings over that span. Even when Sloukas was still finding his footing with Olympiacos, he still managed to record one of his three double-doubles on the season when these clubs squared off in Round 3. Milan continues making life tough for estimators, as a different player led the Italian team in fantasy points in each of the last four Rounds, and only on one occasion was that total above the 30-point mark. With Milan likely still short-handed in the frontcourt, though, we'll go with Zach LeDay in this spot. LeDay has scored in double figures in five straight contests, and he has averaged 27 minutes per game over that span, which is noticeably more than the 22 minutes he was getting prior to that.

DFS Darlings: The return of Vladimir Micov doesn't bode well for a couple Milan players, but it should not affect Kevin Punter, who will face Olympiacos for the first time since parting ways with the club last season. Punter fell out of favor near the end of his stint with the Greek team, so he should have some extra motivation Tuesday. He's also returning some of the most average value on the DraftKings slate at just $7,700. Olympiacos' frontcourt players have taken turns stuffing the stat sheet, and with Georgios Printezis producing a bit better than Sasha Vezenkov over the past few Rounds, he appears a bit more appealing Tuesday given the $1,500 difference in price.

Zenit Saint Petersburg at FC Barcelona

Status Check: Alex Poythress (DYR), Tarik Black (DYR), Victor Claver (BAR)

Best Bets for Success: The final game of the day figures to be the best, as it features a Barcelona team that is now tied for first place and a surprising Zenit squad that sits third in the standings. Nikola Mirotic is the most likely player to produce for Barcelona, particularly with Zenit doing better than anyone against opposing guards. Playing time is a concern for Mirotic, as he just returned from a lengthy absence. In what figures to be a competitive game, though, he should get as many minutes as he can handle. Kevin Pangos continues getting the job done for the Russian team, but with neither Poythress nor Tarik Black expected to play, Arturas Gudaitis will be Zenit's top option Tuesday. Barcelona has been one of the best against opposing centers, but they've been pretty good against players at every position, and Gudaitis should again get extra minutes and extra opportunities to stack up stats.

DFS Darlings: This game features what is clearly the lowest over/under of the day, which is no surprise given these two teams are clearly the best in the league when it comes to points allowed. There aren't really any appealing matchups or any other absences to account for, so there won't be much for value plays in this one. Billy Baron reached double figures in the last two Rounds as well as when these teams met in Round 2, and he won't cost you all that much on DraftKings. Will Thomas is plenty capable of returning 3x value at just $7,200, and Pierre Oriola has done enough of late to at least earn a mention.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Kevin O'Brien plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: kevob100, DraftKings: kevob100.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin O'Brien
Kevin mans the Packers and Brewers beats and moonlights as RotoWire's Director of Operations.
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