EuroLeague Primer: Tuesday Makeup Games

EuroLeague Primer: Tuesday Makeup Games

This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.

PREGAME UPDATES

STATS AND INFO.

THE SLATE

ALBA Berlin at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

Status Check: Khyri Thomas (MTA)

Best Bets for Success: The first of the three rescheduled contests on Tuesday's schedule features the highest over/under -- albeit by a small margin -- and also the widest spread, with the home team favored by roughly eight points. Maccabi looked sharp while snapping an eight-game losing streak its last time out, and they were led by Ante Zizic, who tied his season high with 23 points and now sits sixth in the league in average index rating. Zizic went 8-of-10 from the field and notched one of his seven games with at least 25.0 DraftKings points last time he saw ALBA. That's a lot to like for a player who checks in at just $9,000 on DraftKings. Scottie Wilbekin retains a spot here having averaged 17.3 ppg over his last 10 appearances. However, his two most productive games during that run came against fast-paced Monaco, so he could have a tough time returning significant value on DraftKings. The German team also has two players rolling into this one in Luke Sikma and Maodo Lo, with the former averaging 25.9 DraftKings points over his last four games and Lo notching 30.2 points on the same website over his last five. Sikma is returning the most average value among the players near the top of the board, and Lo takes on a squad that ranks bottom-4 against guards in points, three and field goal attempts. 

DFS Darlings: The same matchup bodes well for Marcus Eriksson, who has fallen too an affordable $7,900 on DraftKings. Eriksson has appeared in 13 games this season and has put up at least 23.3 DraftKings points in five of them. Yovel Zoosman is also worth considering at $5,800, as he will be playing in the gym he used to play his home games in and made multiple marks in four categories last time he faced his former team. On the Maccabi side, we will start with Keenan Evans, who averaged 10.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.2 steals over his last five games. ALBA is not allowing guards to get many shots up, but they have not been too stout otherwise, which gives Evans a good chance to return useful value at $8,200. While a fair amount of points are expected, the total is only a couple points above the number in the next two games, and it could be tough to find many bargains with both teams at full strength.

UNICS Kazan at Real Madrid

Status Check: O.J. Mayo (UNK), Fabien Causeur (RMB), Tristan Vukcevic (RMB)

Best Bets for Success: The middle game on the slate will be one to watch, as it features the two hottest teams in the league. UNICS comes in amid an 11-3 run and Real Madrid has surged into first place thanks to a 9-1 stretch. The Spanish squad is favored by about six points, but the visitors handed them one of their only three losses this season. Both teams get it done differently, with the Russian team relying on the same handful of players nearly every time out and the hosts getting contributions up and down its roster. We will start with UNICS, as the two priciest players on the board reside on their roster in Lorenzo Brown and Mario Hezonja. Both put up some big numbers over their last nine appearances, but the former looks like the better bet Tuesday, as he is returning quite a bit more average value and Real Madrid ranks top-3 against forwards in five of the six counting stats as well as FG% and FGA. John Brown will be tough to ignore, having put up at least 36.8 DraftKings points in three straight appearances. He checks in at a season-high $9,700, though, and gets the same tough matchup as Hezonja. To illustrate how deep Madrid's roster goes, eight different players hit the 25-point mark on DraftKings over the team's last three contests. Edy Tavares did not play in the last two, but he also put up the biggest fantasy-point total over that span and is the safest player on his loaded squad. Tavares has hit the 30-point mark on DraftKings eight times in his 16 appearances, and the league's second-leading rebounder and leading shot blocker takes on a team ceding the most rebounds and fifth-most swats to opposing centers.

DFS Darlings: There aren't a lot of appealing value plays in this contest either, as UNICS is also shutting down forwards and Real Madrid is shutting down all frontcourt players in general. Isaiah Canaan will be a player to consider, however, as he checks in $1,000 cheaper than he did his last time out. Before a two-game dry spell Canaan reached double figures in 10 straight contests and averaged 15.9 ppg over that span. Mayo could be worth a dart throw at a near-minimum $3,400 if he plays, but that might not be known until right before tip-off. For Real Madrid, Guerschon Yabusele is affordable enough at $8,900 to consider despite the tough matchup, and after that, it's a toss-up how the minutes will be divided. For what it's worth, Rudy Fernandez is the only player on the slate returning over 3x value at his current price point. Someone else is bound to return some value, but it's anyone's guess who that will be.

FC Bayern Munich at LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne

Status Check: Darrun Hilliard (BAY), Paul Zipser (BAY), Nihad Djedovic (BAY), Elie Okobo (ASV), David Lighty (ASV), William Howard (ASV), Raymar Morgan (ASV), Antoine Diot (ASV), Victor Wembanyama (ASV)

Best Bets for Success: The two teams in the final matchup own identical 9-11 records and sit one win behind the eight-place team in the standings, Efes. The oddsmakers are expecting a tight one, with the visitors only a slight favorite. It's not yet clear if ASVEL will have its leading scorer available, as the team has not provided an official update on Okobo's status since his Round 22 absence. With Okobo uncertain, though, Chris Jones is the most likely player to lead his team in fantasy points Tuesday. Jones has been remarkably consistent, finishing with fewer than 19.8 fantasy points just twice all season, and that gives him a nice floor and the potential for a lot more at $9,100. Vladimir Lucic's fantasy-point total decreased in each of his last four appearances, but the Bayern forward is a good bet to bounce back Tuesday, as he takes on an ASVEL team that ranks bottom-3 against players at his position in points, rebounds, assists, FG% and FGA. Lucic just missed a double-double last time these teams played, and since then notched two double-doubles in seven games.

DFS Darlings: Bayern went back to a pretty short rotation in recent Rounds, and in a must-win game they could elect to do the same. ASVEL is faring pretty well against guards and centers, but given how they are faring against forwards, both Augustine Rubit and Deshaun Thomas will be in play. Rubit did record a double-double last time these teams met and nearly did the same his last time out. Thomas is slightly cheaper and has topped the 20-point mark on DraftKings seven times this season. The German club is faring pretty well against guards in most categories, but if Okobo and Diot are both out, 3x value is well within reach for Paul Lacombe and possibly even Matthew Strazel. James Gist also earns a mention, as his price slipped $900 since last week, giving him a pretty good chance to hit 3x value as well.

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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