This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- Dante Exum is set to make his Barcelona debut in Round 14.
- Monaco's Mike James and Dwayne Bacon will suit up Friday, but Jerry Boutsiele will not.
- ALBA's Luke Sikma and Christ Koumadje will be unavailable for Round 14.
- Panathinaikos' Jehyve Floyd will not play Friday.
- Tornike Shengelia, Johannes Voigtmann and Daniel Hackett will all suit up for CSKA on Friday, but Kenneth Faried will not.
STATS AND INFO.
- Betting Odds
- Starting Lineups
- Injury Report
- Team Stats
- Opponent Averages
- Team Trends
- Twitter - @RotoWireEuro
THE SLATE
CSKA Moscow at 
Zalgiris Kaunas
Status Check: Tornike Shengelia (CSK), Johannes Voigtmann (CSK), Daniel Hackett (CSK), Joffrey Lauvergne (ZAL), Niels Giffey (ZAL), Paulius Jankunas (ZAL)
Best Bets for Success: While the clash between the Spanish titans has garnered the bulk of the headlines, Friday's slate also features a matchup between two of the most storied teams in the east -- the "East Classico," as CSKA's website puts it. The Russian squad won four of its last five games and sits 13 places higher in the standings than the home team, but this one could be closer than expected, as Zalgiris has won three of four, with all those wins coming at home. It's not yet clear which CSKA players listed above will take the court Friday, but each will carry some risk, so the safest options on the Russian side are Will Clyburn and Alexey Shved. Clyburn has gotten up at least nine shots in every game this season and has scored at least 16 points in nine contests, and Shved put up at least 24.3 points on DraftKings five times over the past eight Rounds. Zalgiris has not had anyone consistently producing at that level of late, but with Josh Nebo seemingly back at full speed, he gets the top spot for the Lithuanian team. Don't forget, Nebo averaged 10.7 points and 7.7 rebounds over a six-game stretch before going down with an ankle injury. While the presence of Nikola Milutinov alters things a bit, Nebo has an enticing matchup, as CSKA ranks bottom-5 against centers in all of points, rebounds, blocks and field goal percentage. That's a lot to like for a player who checks in at a meager $7,000 on DraftKings.
DFS Darlings: The aforementioned Milutinov kicks things off in this section, as he also appears to be back at 100 percent, having just missed a double-double in Round 13. Milutinov is not the steal he was last week on DraftKings, and he could have more company in the post than he did last time out, but even at $7,600 he's a bargain, and Zalgiris ranks bottom-5 against opposing centers in both points and rebounds. Marius Grigonis -- just $6,900 -- will again be worth a look, as he could be ready to take 20 minutes for the first time since Round 1 and should have some extra juice facing the team he spent the last three seasons with. It remains tough identifying value plays for the Lithuanian team, as their backcourt rotation seems to fluctuate on a game-by-game basis. The Lithuanian guard with the most upside, though, is Lukas Lekavicius, who recorded DraftKings point totals of 32.0 and 29.8 over the past five Rounds.
AX Armani Exchange Milan at 
AS Monaco
Status Check: Konstantinos Mitoglou (AXM), Luigi Datome (AXM), Riccardo Moraschini (AXM), Mike James (ASM), Dwayne Bacon (ASM), Leo Westermann (ASM), Jerry Boutsiele (ASM)
Best Bets for Success: The next game on the list features two teams who figure to be fighting harder for a win than usual, as the visitors have lost four straight and the home team is amid a 1-5 stretch. Monaco's chances will likely hinge on James' availability, and it's looking like he will be available for Friday's contest. If he does play, he will naturally be his club's top option. James is averaging the most DraftKings points on the board and is also returning some of the most value despite his lofty price, but it could be tough to spend up for him Friday, as he exited with an injury in each of the past two Rounds and faces a Milan team that ranks top-5 against opposing guards in all of points, assists, steals and field goal percentage allowed. While Milan has hit a rough patch, Shavon Shields has remained steady, putting up at least 23.0 DraftKings points five times in the past seven Rounds. Monaco is allowing forwards to do a lot of scoring and is also the only team allowing players at those positions to shoot over 50 percent from the field, so Shields should bounce back in the scoring column after being limited to just nine points in a tough matchup his last time out.
DFS Darlings: With Datome joining Mitoglou on the sidelines, Ben Bentil could be even more active than he was in his Round 13 debut, and he will get the same matchup Shields does. That makes him plenty appealing on DraftKings at just $6,700. While the French team has struggled with forwards, they have been downright dreadful against centers. As such, every Milan frontcourt player will carry some level of appeal. Nicolo Melli and Kyle Hines will both be worth considering, and you could throw a dart at Kaleb Tarczewski, who checks in at just $4,300. Milan does not have a matchup to pick on, and in addition to handling opposing guards they have also been stout against forwards. Still, if Bacon remains out Alpha Diallo will be worth considering. Donatas Motiejunas -- who dropped 28 points and nine rebounds in Monaco's last domestic contest -- is intriguing at a mere $6,600, and should James wind up sitting out, Paris Lee will be interesting at just $8,200.
ALBA Berlin at 
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
Status Check: Nemanja Nedovic (PAO), Jehyve Floyd (PAO)
Best Bets for Success: The final appetizer prior to the main course pits an ALBA team that has won two straight against a Panathinaikos club that needs a win to have any chance of getting its season back on track. The German club continues to be led by Luke Sikma, who despite slowing some is returning the most average value on the board. He has been joined of late by Markus Eriksson, who averaged 16.8 ppg over the last four Rounds. Eriksson will have a chance to keep things going against a Panathinaikos team that ranks bottom-5 against guards in both points and three-pointers allowed. Things have been a bit unsteady for the Greek team recently with a number of players picking up injuries, but the one constant has been Daryl Macon, whose 19.8 DraftKings points in Round 14 tied his second-fewest of the season. Macon should see some extra scoring opportunities Friday with Nedovic sidelined, and he will face an ALBA squad that ranks bottom-3 against opposing guards in points and assists and last in both threes and field goal percentage allowed. Georgios Papagiannis also looks like a safe option, having averaged 16.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks over the past two Rounds and facing a German squad that has been pretty friendly to opposing centers.
DFS Darlings: With Nedovic unavailable and ALBA having a tough time containing guards, Howard Sant-Roos will have a shot to return 3x value at $7,400. The German team is healthy and was pretty top-heavy in recent Rounds, so it will be tough to find much for value on their side. However, with Oscar da Silva dropping all the way down to $6,900 on DraftKings, you could take a gamble on him. After all, he did put up at least 24.0 DraftKings points four times in a five-Round stretch earlier this season.
Status Check: Anthony Randolph (RMB), Trey Thompkins (RMB), Alberto Abalde (RMB), Carlos Alocen (RMB), Nick Calathes (BAR), Cory Higgins (BAR), Dante Exum (BAR), Alex Abrines (BAR)
Best Bets for Success: The last game of the day will be a good one, as both teams are tied atop the standings with two more wins than any other team and both teams are bound to bring the fire in the latest edition of El Clásico. Both teams will be down some key pieces, but there will still be some star power on either side, as Barcelona will be led by Nikola Mirotic, who is leading the league in average index rating, and Real Madrid will counter with Edy Tavares, who sits second in the same category. Neither player will have an easy matchup, as Madrid ranks top-5 against opposing forwards in nearly every counting stat and Barcelona has several options to counter Tavares, but both are also returning some of the most value on the board at their current price points, and both should handle a full workload in a game that the home team is favored to win by only three points. Though he hasn't been mentioned yet, we'll also toss Guerschon Yabusele in this category, as Madrid will not yet get reinforcements at the forward spots and he is the player that matches up best against Mirotic.
DFS Darlings: Barcelona is doing a good job containing opposing guards, but it will be tough to overlook Thomas Heurtel in this one, as he takes on a team he unceremoniously parted ways with last season and one that tried to prevent him from joining Real Madrid. Heurtel comes in on a roll, averaging 12.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists over the last three Rounds. With Calathes and Higgins still out for Barcelona, Nicolas Laprovittola and Rokas Jokubaitis will continue playing expanded roles, though they aren't quite as appealing as they were previously, as they check in at their highest price points of the season and Exum has joined the fray. However, Madrid has been pretty friendly to opposing guards, so all three will be appealing at their respective price points.
