EuroLeague Primer: Round 14 - Thursday

EuroLeague Primer: Round 14 - Thursday

This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.

PREGAME UPDATES

STATS AND INFO.

THE SLATE

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul at Zenit Saint Petersburg

Status Check: Marial Shayok (FBB), Danilo Barthel (FBB), Shabazz Napier (ZEN), Dmitry Kulagin (ZEN)

Best Bets for Success: These teams are separated by 10 spots in the standings, but the oddsmakers expect a close contest, as the home team are only slight favorites. Fenerbahce snapped a four-game losing streak its last time out and have things turned back in the right direction thanks to some stellar play from their backcourt duo of Nando de Colo and Pierria Henry. Both players seem likely to get plenty of opportunities Thursday, as Zenit has done a good job containing opposing big men. Jan Vesely of course has been the Turkish team's steadiest player, but the matchup isn't favorable, as Zenit ranks top-3 against opposing frontcourt players in points and rebounds per game as well as field goal percentage. The best bet to produce on the home team remains Jordan Loyd. He struggled his last time out, but the matchup was as tough as they come, and Fenerbahce is pretty neutral against guards. Loyd is a good bounceback candidate is back down to a reasonable $9,600 on DraftKings.

DFS Darlings: The over/under on this game is the lowest on the board, which certainly limits the appeal of the more-affordable options. However, Jordan Mickey could be a sneaky play. Fenerbahce has been as good against centers as they come, and Mickey may be listed at that position, but he fills a forward spot in Zenit's starting lineup and Fenerbahce has struggled to contain players there. Mickey checks in at just $8,700 on DraftKings, and he put up at least 26.3 points on that website three times over the past four Rounds. Given how Fenerbahce has fared against forwards, Mateusz Ponitka's well-rounded game gives him a shot to reutn 3x value as well. The Turkish team has been pretty top-heavy of late, but Marko Guduric can be considered if you pass up on the team's top two guards.

Olympiacos Piraeus at Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade

Status Check: Moustapha Fall (OLY), Austin Hollins (CZV), Aaron White (CZV), Marko Simonovic (CZV)

Best Bets for Success: The next game up is not expected to be very high-scoring, either, which suggests the game could be played at Red Star's pace. That could make things a bit tougher than usual for the Greek team's top players, as could the fact the home team is ceding the fewest points, rebounds, and field goal attempts and the second-fewest threes to opposing guards. With that in mind, this sets up to be a Sasha Vezenkov night, and he should certainly be up to the task, having averaged 16.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.3 threes over the past four Rounds. Red Star's minutes and production were spread out fairly evenly over the past few Rounds, as only three players once played more than 25 minutes during that span and only twice did someone top 23.8 fantasy points. Nikola Kalinic remains the safest option on the roster, but he will have to fight for his points, as Olympiacos is the clear leader in field goal percentage allowed to opposing frontcourt players.

DFS Darlings: Injuries could open up some opportunities on the Red Star side, and that's good news for Nikola Ivanovic -- returning from a one-game absence -- and Luka Mitrovic, who checks in at a meager $6,700. Ivanovic is returning some of the most average value on the board and would benefit if Hollins sits, while Mitrovic would also stand to benefit if the imposing Fall sits for the visitors. It could be a tough night for Olympiacos' guards, but Giannoulis Larentzakis did enough in the past two Rounds to at least be considered at $6,900. Hassan Martin did as well, and could be a bargain at $5,700 if Fall is unable to go.

Anadolu Efes Istanbul at FC Bayern Munich

Status Check: Chris Singleton (EFS), Dogus Balbay (EFS), Darrun Hilliard (BAY), Paul Zipser (BAY), Leon Radosevic (BAY)

Best Bets for Success: Efes' dynamic backcourt duo are both on a roll, with Shane Larkin topping the 25-point on DraftKings in four straight Rounds and Vasilije Micic topping the 40-point mark twice on the same website over the past five Rounds. It could be tough for both of the to return value Thursday, though, as Bayern ranks top-5 against in opposing guards in points, rebounds, steals, threes and field goal attempts per game. With Hilliard still out, Vladimir Lucic will remain in the top spot for the German club. Lucic will have the matchup in his favor and Bayern will need him to produce in the points column to keep pace with Efes.

DFS Darlings: The over/under on this game is the highest on the board, which bodes well for bargains. However, there aren't a ton of options on either side, as both teams have been getting most of their production from the top of their roster. Based on average value returned, Corey Walden and Deshaun Thomas are interesting on the Bayern side, and Krunoslav Simon and Tibor Pleiss are for the visiting team.

UNICS Kazan at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

Status Check: Andrey Vorontsevich (UNK), Roman Sorkin (MTA)

Best Bets for Success: UNICS is allowing the most points and field goal attempts to opposing guards, which sets up a big home game for Scottie Wilbekin. The Russian team has not had much success with centers, either, so chances are it will be another productive appearance for Ante Zizic. Five players have been putting up nearly all the stats for UNICS in recent Rounds, and Lorenzo Brown, Mario Hezonja and Isaiah Canaan look like the most appealing in Round 14, as Maccabi has been pretty tough again centers but not players at the other positions. Brown and Hezonja put up at least 27.5 DraftKings points in each of the past three Rounds, and Canaan put up at least 22.0 points on that website four times over the past five Rounds.

DFS Darlings: Janis Timma has parted ways with UNICS since Round 13, but he was not doing a whole lot despite being part of the starting lineup, so his absence should not be particularly noticeable. It could open things up a bit for the likes of O.J. Mayo and Jarrell Brantley, though. UNICS has not been as tough on forwards as they once were, so James Nunnally is worth considering at $8,500, as he is returning some of the most value on the board. Jalen Reynolds looks pretty good at $7,000, as he will have the matchup in his favor and could see a few more opportunities with Sorkin sidelined. 

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne at Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz

Status Check: David Lighty (ASV), Raymar Morgan (ASV), Alec Peters (BKN)

Best Bets for Success: Baskonia is not allowing guards to do much scoring, but they have faced few backcourts of this caliber, and they are allowing players at the guard spots to contribute elsewhere. That's good news for both Elie Okobo and Chris Jones. Okobo's scoring average has slipped some, but he is returning the most value on the DraftKings board despite his lofty price. Jones, somewhat quietly, averaged 26.0 points on DraftKings over the past four Rounds. On the Baskonia side, it's tough to look past Steven Enoch, who averaged 17.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks over the last five Rounds. ASVEL has done a good job containing opposing centers, so it will be a challenge for Enoch to keep the momentum going in Round 14.

DFS Darlings: ASVEL's rotation has gotten crowded with a number of players returning in recent Rounds, but Baskonia has had a lot of issues with opposing forwards, so Victor Wembanyama seems pretty tantalizing at $4,500. Rokas Giedraitis and Wade Baldwin are both interesting on the Baskonia side, as neither checks in about $8,700.

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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