This article is part of our DraftKings EuroLeague DFS Picks series.
Slate Overview
We get a miniature two-game slate Wednesday that features two teams that run fast, frustrating rotation and a bunch of respectable defenses. No, not you, Maccabi. Luckily there is no injury news to keep tabs on, as Jordan Mickey is expected back for Virtus and everyone else has either been ruled in or out. We will want to zero in on the Maccabi/Virtus matchup given that it should feature far more points, but there are still some poor floors for some players in that contest. With that in mind, I think picking the proper pieces in the Barcelona/Olympiacos game will be the key to this slate. Good luck to all!
Guards to Go After
Players listed in order of confidence
Preferred Plays
Lorenzo Brown, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv ($10,400)
Wade Baldwin IV, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv ($9,500)
We will start with the top-tier guards in the best matchup. As I always say, their usage rates are incredible for EuroLeague standards. Brown provides you with a safer floor due to better peripherals whereas Baldwin is more scoring-dependent.
Daniel Hackett, Virtus Segafredo Bologna ($8,700)
Marco Belinelli, Virtus Segafredo Bologna ($8,400)
Flip to Maccabi's opponent and we have a very similar scenario.Hackett provides the safe peripheral floor whereas Belinelli is out there to do one thing, and that's get buckets. We've been targeting Maccab's defense all season and we certainly won't be stopping on a two-game slate.
Nicolas Laprovittola, FC Barcelona ($9,300)
Of all the players above the $8,000 mark Laprovittola is the biggest wild card. The price is very enticing for someone who can lead this slate in raw DraftKings points by 10.0, but he could also wind up wither fewer than 20.0 and really hold back your teams. I don't worry about matchups too much with Laprovittola because given how Barcelona runs its system, there's not much anyone can do when he gets hot.
Thomas Walkup, Olympiacos Piraeus ($8,600)
it's just a playing time thing here. If I knew Walkup was going to get pushed I'd feel more comfortable, but with how deep their bench is these days he's not fored into heavy minutes, which he desperately needs as a so-so option when it comes to fantasy points per minute.
Valuable Values
Isaia Cordinier, Virtus Segafredo Bologna ($7,700)
Iffe Lundberg, Virtus Segafredo Bologna ($6,800)
Alessandro Pajola, Virtus Segafredo Bologna ($5,000)
We will continue trying to go after Maccabi's defense, and I think you can do so by stacking one of the top Virtus guards with a less-expensive option. Cordinier is the defensive guy who starts and can do a bit of everything. Lundberg and Pajola work as reserves, with Pajola running the second unit and Lundberg occupying the scoring role when Belinelli needs a break.
Nigel Williams-Goss, Olympiacos Piraeus ($7,100)
This one's pretty simple. Williams-Goss is not going to get extended run alongside Walkup, so make sure not to stack those two together. It will rarely will hit and correlates negatively. I really like the discount Williams-Goss gives us. He only saw 13 minutes last game, but I could see him getting around 20 Wednesday provided he plays better.
Isaiah Canaan, Olympiacos Piraeus ($7,200)
Shaquielle McKissic, Olympiacos Piraeus ($4,900)
Canaan will start and will be looking to shoot the three at all times, and then McKissic will come in and try to get to the rim. McKissic sometimes closes, but this new Olympiacos rotation is very frustrating and hard to predict, making both only GPP pieces.
Frontcourt in Focus
Players listed in order of confidence
Preferred Plays
Tornike Shengelia, Virtus Segafredo Bologna ($11,000)
Virtus is the only squad with positive matchups across the board, so Shengelia should rightfully be chalky. Maccabi runs a bigger lineup, so I think Virtus will have Bryant Dunston or Ante Zizic on the court for most of the game, leaving Shengelia and Mickey to cover the forward spot. Mickey is the key part here. Although he probably won't handle big minutes right away, I could see his presence capping Shengelia around 25-to-28 minutes -- especially with it being a double-game week.
Alec Peters, Olympiacos Piraeus ($9,800)
He has had the safest minutes of any Olympiacos player all season. He is being treated like Sasha Vezenkov and is filling the role perfectly .
Moustapha Fall, Olympiacos Piraeus ($9,000)
Fall took it easy over the weekend, and with this being a big game I could see his minutes being pushed into the high 20s. The slow pace of his game could really help his assist and block numbers.
Valuable Values
Nikola Kalinic, FC Barcelona ($7,900)
You're going to get 30 minutes out of him and he's been playing very well. I like this for a bounceback spot as well as raw points potential.
Ante Zizic, Virtus Segafredo Bologna ($5,500)
I was really hoping Mickey wouldn't return yet, just to kind of take away the possibility they use him at the center spot. Even though I believe it will be Zizic or Dunston there, the door is open for Mickey to slot into the mix. Zizic is a high-risk/high-reward option with the playing time being uncertain.
Joel Parra, FC Barcelona ($4,800)
Oscar da Silva, FC Barcelona ($4,400)
Parra continues to make plays for his team in the absence of Alex Abrines. He hit the game-winner over the weekend and I think we see another 16-to-23 minutes out of him. As for da Silva, he opened the door for the Parra minutes with his absence in Round 19, but he could slide back into the starting lineup Wednesday. I think he will need a great first rotation to eat into the Parra minutes, however.
Awudu Abass, Virtus Segafredo Bologna ($4,100)
The playing time is uncertain unless he starts, but when he's on the court he is not afraid to shoot it from long range, and he should have some wide-open looks against Maccabi's defense.
