This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- Red Star's Jordan Loyd has been ruled out for Round 16. Meanwhile, teammate Quino Colom will see his first action since joining the club, and both Langston Hall and Ognjen Dobric will return to action.
- Maccabi's Othello Hunter has been cleared to play Tuesday.
- Barcelona's Thomas Heurtel will be held out Tuesday.
THE SLATE
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade at 
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Key Injuries: Langston Hall (RED), Ognjen Dobric (RED)
Best Bets for Success: Jordan Loyd has gotten going again for Red Star, but with him taking on a Zenit team that is shutting down opposing guards -- save for Mike James -- better than anyone, Johnny O'Bryant will be his team's best option in this one. O'Bryant averaged only 6.1 fewer fantasy points and three fewer field-goal attempts than Loyd over the last four Rounds, and Zenit hasn't been nearly as stingy on opposing frontcourt players. Despite a couple subpar games, Kevin Pangos holds onto the top spot for Zenit. Pangos led his squad in fantasy points four times over the last six Rounds, and Red Star has been allowing plenty of points, assists and threes to opposing guards.
DFS Darlings: Red Star has been one of the best against opposing frontcourt players, so we'll stick to Zenit guards in this section. Austin Hollins has been the most productive of the bunch of late, but his Round 15 dud doesn't inspire much confidence. On the other hand, K.C. Rivers or Billy Baron could be worth a gamble on DraftKings under the $6,000 mark. It's a bit of a coin flip between those two, but Rivers -- who averaged 27 minutes over the last four Rounds -- has a higher floor and Baron a higher ceiling. Dejan Davidovac has filled a regular role of late for Red Star, and he will be in play on DraftKings at just $6,100.
FC Barcelona at 
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Key Injuries: Brandon Davies (BAR), Victor Claver (BAR), Tibor Pleiss (IST)
Best Bets for Success: Things continue to trend positively for Nikola Mirotic, whose DraftKings price has slipped back beneath $12,000 despite his double-double in Round 15. Mirotic averaged a healthy 33.5 points on that website over the last three Rounds, and with Davies sidelined again Tuesday, Mirotic should see extra minutes like he did last week. As much as we don't want to, we'll have to pass on listing Shane Larkin as Efes' top option. He simply did not produce enough last week and Barcelona has been tough on opposing guards. Despite that, Vasilije Micic still gets the top spot for Efes. He has been the Turkish team's primary option of late, and he is talented enough to overcome the matchup.
DFS Darlings: Bryant Dunston has gotten the job done for Efes of late, and although Barcelona has been pretty tough on opposing centers, Dunston should play heavy minutes in Round 16 with Pleiss out. Artem Pustovyi hasn't played much this season, but if he holds onto the starting spot he claimed in Round 15, it won't be too hard for him to hit 3x value on DraftKings at just $4,000.
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens at 
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
Key Injuries: Zach Auguste (PAN), Othello Hunter (TEL)
Best Bets for Success: Georgios Papagiannis has been on a roll of late, and it's likely that will continue Tuesday. Maccabi has had a lot of issues with opposing big men -- most notably, they're allowing the most blocks to opposing centers -- and Papagiannis has been one of the best post players in the league. Scottie Wilbekin was a bit hit-or-miss over the last few Rounds, but he has put up at least 20 points on DraftKings in every game since Round 9. He will be in position to bounce back in the scoring column against a Panathinaikos team that ranks near the bottom in points and three-pointers allowed to opposing guards. He's also down to just $10,300 on DraftKings, which helps make him one of the top values on the board.
DFS Darlings: Tyler Dorsey has made some noise for Maccabi of late, and given he will have the same matchup as Wilbekin, he deserves consideration on DraftKings at just $6,100. At the same price, Ante Zizic is interesting as well, but if and only if Hunter is unavailable. Nemanja Nedovic sits sixth in the league in scoring heading into Round 16, and at just $8,500 on DraftKings, he is one of the best upper-end values on the board.
Key Injuries: Daniel Hackett (CSK), Joel Bolomboy (CSK), William Howard (ASV)
Best Bets for Success: If Zenit couldn't slow down Mike James, it's likely no one can. James put up 45.5 points on DraftKings in Round 15 and averaged just short of that mark over his last seven games. ASVEL is giving up the fewest threes in the league, but they haven't been too tough defensively otherwise, so the matchup concerns for James should be minimal. James' teammate, Nikola Milutinov, added his fourth double-double of the season his last time out, and although the scoring part of that equation is usually the questionable one for him, it should be noted that ASVEL is allowing the most points to opposing centers. You could make a case for four different players on the French team being their club's top option in Round 16, but we'll go with David Lighty in this spot. Lighty has been the most consistent producer among ASVEL's options, putting up at least 26 on DraftKings five times in the last seven Rounds.
DFS Darlings: The rest of the ASVEL options considered above -- Norris Cole, Guerschon Yabusele and Moustapha Fall -- are all a bit pricey, so it's probably best to limit yourself to no more than one ASVEL player on DraftKings. For what it's worth, CSKA has been below average against opposing guards and one of the stingiest on opposing frontcourt players. No one else on the French squad has produced enough to warrant much consideration with ASVEL at full strength. CSKA's affordable options will be limited, too, given ASVEL's success at limiting threes and the fact they are shutting down opposing forwards better than anyone.
Key Injuries: Peyton Siva (BER), Ben Lammers (BER), Marcus Eriksson (BER), Anthony Randolph (MAD), Carlos Alocen (MAD)
Best Bets for Success: Besides James, no one in the league has been as good as Walter Tavares of late. "Sergeant Swat" has recorded three straight double-doubles, and over his last five games he averaged a whopping 14.2 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3.4 blocks. That's going to be pretty hard to sustain, but he could continue playing around 30 minutes per game with Randolph out for the season. The biggest beneficiary of Randolph's absence should be Trey Thompkins, and he has shined this season when given the opportunity, averaging 14.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 threes when playing at least 25 minutes. He will be one of the top options in Tuesday's DraftKings contests, as he costs just $8,300 and faces an ALBA team that is allowing the most points to opposing frontcourt players. The German squad is going to be without three key players in this one, so they figure to lean on Luke Sikma. The do-everything forward has been a steady producer of late, but he will have his work cut out for him Tuesday, as Tavares will be patrolling the paint and Madrid is allowing by far the fewest assists to opposing frontcourt players.
DFS Darlings: With both teams down at least one important piece and the over/under on this game coming in five points above every other one, there will be a couple of appealing value plays on either team. Nicolas Laprovittola had the best game of his career in Round 15, and while he has not been very consistent, he should get a chance to capitalize on his last outing. ALBA isn't giving up many points to guards, but they are allowing the most rebounds and assists and the second-most steals to players at those positions. Usman Garuba will be another name to consider, as he regularly hit double figures on DraftKings earlier this season when Randolph was not 100 percent. He won't have to do much more than that at just $4,000. Both Jayson Granger and Maodo Lo will be asked to do more with Siva out, and neither will cost you more than $7,200 on DraftKings.
