This article is part of our DraftKings EuroLeague DFS Picks series.
Slate Overview
Talk about a night-and-day difference between two slates. We had a handful of guys Tuesday who were rostered at 35 percent or higher, making for an extremely chalky day. I think things will be much different Wednesday, as there simply aren't as many clear smash plays. The injury news we're monitoring involves Virtus Bologna, who unfortunately have the latest start time. If we receive news regarding who will play and who will not before the first game begins I'd be much more interested. The ASVEL vs. Maccabi matchup appears to be the most fantasy-friendly, but decisions will have to be made there due to price increases.
Guards to Go After
Players listed in order of confidence
Preferred Plays
Lorenzo Brown, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv ($10,200)
Wade Baldwin IV, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv ($10,100)
Top-tier guards aren't as plentiful as Tuesday, so we'll start with these two, who feel like they have the best floor. Maccabi runs through these two, as they account for over half the team's usage, and they have a quality matchup.
Nemanja Nedovic, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade ($10,000)
Nedovic is of the best scorers in the league, and it's nice to see him starting and getting consistent minutes. Another of the other league's best scorers, Markus Howard, dropped 24 points against Valencia last week.
Scottie Wilbekin, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul ($9,300)
Fenerbahce's guards have been very up-and-down this season, but Wilbekin has been the constant. He sees the most consistent minutes and usage in his club's backcourt and Baskonia's guards can be targeted.
Nando de Colo, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne ($8,300)
This is always a risky play with how poor his floor is and how unfavorable the minutes are, but if he's playing efficiently this is a really nice price.
Valuable Values
Daniel Hackett, Virtus Segafredo Bologna ($7,200)
The big news here is the availability of Jaleen Smith and Alessandro Pajola. Those are the other two true point guards on the roster, and if they're unable to go Hackett will have very secure minutes. Plus, he is coming off a pair of productive contests.
Yago Dos Santos, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade ($7,500)
Dos Santos received a surprise start last week and did not disappoint, so I suspect we see him in the starting five again. Red Star has plenty of guards, but they ran some three-guard lineups last week, which is promising for Dos Santos' prospects. He needs to shoot efficiently to be safe, but he's shown he can knock down big shots in key moments, and that will help him stay on the court.
Iffe Lundberg, Virtus Segafredo Bologna ($5,400)
Isaia Cordinier, Virtus Segafredo Bologna ($6,900)
Ognjen Dobric, Virtus Segafredo Bologna ($5,900)
Dobric is listed as a forward but plays more of a wing role like Cordinier, which is why he's mentioned in this section. Despite a tough matchup, I think these guys come into play if we can confirm the other Virtus guards are out.
Jared Harper, Valencia Basket ($6,800)
He will likely work off the bench, but if you were to tell me he gets 24 minutes again I'd be very interested at this price because his usage is massive. In terms of defense vs. position, point guards fare well against Red Star.
Frontcourt in Focus
Players listed in order of confidence
Preferred Plays
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne ($10,500)
He deserves to be the price king on this slate, and we'll take it in a contest that should be very fast-paced. He's kept his fouls under control this year and he's playing massive minutes. He's so versatile and plays multiple positions, allowing him to hit value despite the cost.
Chima Moneke, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz ($11,000)
Moneke is easily the best sixth man in the league and is pushing for the MVP award. I am concerned about his ceiling at this price if head coach Dusko Ivanovic continues bringing him off the bench, but the pricier players are all pretty uninspiring Wednesday.
Tornike Shengelia, Virtus Segafredo Bologna ($10,900)
If you told me not to worry about ceiling and asked me who I'm most confident can get me 30.0 DraftKings points, I'm going with this man right here. I think he will be plenty motivated to deliver against Barcelona.
Joffrey Lauvergne, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne ($9,700)
Lauvergne is another ASVEL player who continues to benefit from their short, fantasy-friendly rotation, and he now gets a soft matchup .
Jan Vesely, FC Barcelona ($8,400)
Vesely is a model of consistency who now gets an opponent that was absolutely dismantled by Serge Ibaka last week. Ibaka's ability to hit knock down jumpers and attack the offensive glass led to his success, and those are skills Vesely also possesses.
Valuable Values
Johnathan Motley, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul ($8,100)
With Georgios Papagiannis out, Motley is going to be asked to man all the center minutes he can handle. He will, however, have to avoid foul trouble.
Semi Ojeleye, Valencia Basket ($7,800)
The top thing to note here is that Ojeleye finally played over 30 minutes in his last appearance. I think he was limited before due to an early-season injury, but I think he could now see minutes in the high 20s consistently, and that makes him a prime option in this price range.
Youssoupha Fall, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne ($7,700)
Fall's issues are primarily foul-related. He can easily return 3x value at this price if he avoids those. Plus, he fared well against Josh Nebo last year in the same matchup.
Vanja Marinkovic, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz ($7,400)
Maik Kotsar, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz ($6,400)
Marinkovic is more of a wing and Kotsar is more of a center, but Baskonia has a very versatile frontcourt so I believe that the Matt Costello absence can help them both out. Kotsar had his best game of the season last week and should continue to start.
Sertac Sanli, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul ($4,000)
I want to start off by saying I cannot remember a minimum-priced player who wasn't a recent signee that made the optimal lineup, so I feel like the ceiling might not be great as it seems. But if he just gets you 12.0 DraftKings points and your studs do well you can have an easier time cashing. Papagiannis is out and Motley can pick up fouls, so Sanli could be forced into 17-19 minutes. I feel like he'd be more in play on a slate where we loved the upside of our pricier guys, but nevertheless he saves you some cash for other spots.
