EuroLeague Primer: Round 29 - Friday

Written by

Maciej Bogdanski

Updated on March 12, 2021 1:58PM EST

PREGAME UPDATES

Zenit's Aruturas Gudaitis and KC Rivers will return to action in Round 29.
Bayern's Leon Radosevic will be available Friday, but James Gist and Nihad Dedovic will not play.
Efes' Shane Larkin will be available Friday, but it remains to be seen if he will play his regular role.

THE SLATE

ZAL Zalgiris Kaunas at IST Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Status Check: Arturas Milaknis (ZAL), Patricio Garino (ZAL), Shane Larkin (IST)

Best Bets for Success: Efes is in excellent form lately, scoring at least 99 points in each of its last three games. Their star guard, Vasilije Micic, averages incredible 43.4 DFS points in last three and is the second most expensive play on DraftKings slate. After busy last week (two EuroLeague rounds) he didn't suit up for domestic game on Sunday, so should be rested against Zalgiris. Sertac Sanli is not slowing down after snatching starting lineup spot from Bryant Dunston. Turkish international has scored in double digits and delivered two over 30 DFS points hauls in last three outings. Sanli will face Joffrey Lauvergne in the paint. Zalgiris' center just narrowly missed double-double in last game, recording 15 points and nine rebounds. He also scored over 30 DFS points in each of last two rounds. Marius Grigonis has recorded 27.3 DFS points average in last two games and was Zalgiris' top scorer in both.

DFS Darlings: Krunoslav Simon keeps delivering good fantasy points, despite being in the shadow of Micic and Larkin of late. Croatian guard is available on DraftKings at $7,700 and averages 21.8 DFS points in last three games. Rokas Jokubaitis will likely start again in point guard slot for Zalgiris. Talented youngster is averaging 16.4 DFS points in last three and is definitely worth a shot with a price tag of $6,600.

MUN FC Bayern Munich at BAS TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz

Status Check: James Gist (MUN), Nihad Dedovic (MUN), Leon Radosevic (MUN)

Best Bets for Success: Bayern arrives in Spain with high hopes to extend their three-game winning streak. Wade Baldwin has led them to victories in last two by scoring 27 points in each game. He has now produced at least 30 DFS points in last five out of six games and is priced at $11,400 on DraftKings slate. Jalen Reynolds has struggled to impress recently. Despite scoring in double digits in last 16 showings, he failed to record over 20 DFS points in last four but to be fair only in Round 28 he was given a chance to play for more than 20 minutes. Reynolds' usage will most likely increase against Baskonia if Gist and Radosevic sit out. Achille Polonara continues to consistently provide to fantasy lineups every week, scoring over 20 DFS in last five outings. After injury scare in last EuroLeague game, Luca Vildoza seems to be fit to play on Friday night. He scored 23 points in domestic league game on Sunday, and has settled as starting point guard in Baskonia's lineup. In last five outings before Round 28 he averaged 31.7 DFS per game.

DFS Darlings: JaJuan Johnson's playing time will certainly increase if Gist will not suit up for this game. Johnson has started last three games and recorded his longest showing this season, 25 minutes, against Panathinaikos. Paul Zipser may also play bigger role if Bayern's frontcourt will be shorthanded, but I would go with Johnson due to his low price and the fact that he can play in center position when Radosevic not available.

DYR Zenit Saint Petersburg at OLY Olympiacos Piraeus

Status Check: Arturas Gudaitis (DYR), KC Rivers (DYR), Kostas Papanikolaou (OLY), Hassan Martin (OLY), Vassilis Charalampopoulos

Best Bets for Success: Kevin Pangos continues his amazing run of delivering over 10 DFS points in every single EuroLeague game this season. Zenit's guard rarely disappoints and there's no reason to expect that to change in matchup against Greek team. Pangos averages 31.9 DFS points in last five games and DraftKings priced him up at $10,200 for Friday's slate. Mateusz Ponitka spend at least 30 minutes on the court in each of last two rounds, and if Rivers will not be available, he will see another long outing. Zenit's skipper played really well in both games averaging 26.1 DFS points. Sasha Vezenkov continues dominating for Olympiacos with average of 28.5 DFS points over last four games. Considering that he rarely plays less than 30 minutes, Vezenkov is the most appealing play in Olympiacos' frontcourt. Kostas Sloukas' has improved his stats in last game but he will face more difficult challenge against Zenit, best in EuroLeague in limiting opposition guards. Sloukas managed to record only three points, four assists and a single rebound in reverse matchup.

DFS Darlings: Alex Poythress has scored double figures in last four outings, with average DFS points of 18.2 per game. He was also top points scorer in Zenit's last domestic game, producing 22 points with 90% conversion from the field. Livio Jean-Charles scored his season high 15 points in Round 27 game against Baskonia and averages 20.1 DFS points in last three appearances.

ULK Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul at PAM Valencia Basket

Status Check: Marko Guduric (ULK), Melih Mahmutoglu (ULK), Alex Perez (ULK)

Best Bets for Success: Nando de Colo simply can't be omitted in this section after scoring at least 20 points in five consecutive games. French guard now averages excellent 38.2 DFS points since start of February. de Colo also leads EuroLeague's ranking in free throws conversion with 96.3 percent. Valencia concedes most points to opposition forwards in EuroLeague and Dyshawn Pierre will certainly want to capitalize on that. He just recorded his best game this season, in terms of fantasy games, against Milan in Round 27 with 29 DFS points. Bojan Dubljevic has narrowly missed double-double in last outing against Maccabi Tel Aviv. Valencia's captain is now averaging 29.6 DFS points in last three games and is not without a chance in matchup against Jan Vesely. Sam Van Rossom has established himself as a starter in Oranges' competitive backcourt. Belgian guard averages 22.3 DFS points over last four outings, and played his best game of the season in the last matchup against Fenerbahce in November.

DFS Darlings: Louis Labeyrie has shown glimpses of good form in last outing by scoring his season highest 18 points. Frenchman's start against Maccabi was his first since January, and it's possible that he will get another on Friday night. Kyle O'Quinn had a very good game against ASVEL last week, delivering 18.5 DFS points in 20 minutes on the court. He is available on DraftKings slate at $6,000.

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. Maciej Bogdanski plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: kmag115173.