This article is part of our EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge Picks series.
The EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge resumes Tuesday with the first of two days of pivotal Game 3s. All eight teams remain for another Round, so we still have all the same options available that we did last week.
If you have any questions or comments about strategy or the picks below, feel free to drop those at the bottom of this article or reach out via @RotoWireEuro.
And now ...
Guard
Mike James, AS Monaco (17.8 credits)
James is recording 12.0 PTS, 11.0 FGA, 4.0 REB, 5.5 AST, 17.5 PIR on a 27/33/90% shooting splits. Imagine James' PIR if he would have a good shooting percentage. He is having this red flag, but still is very much considerable addition. No doubt he will continue shooting and playing tons of minutes.
Kostas Sloukas, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (15.9 credits)
Sloukas is one of the best picks you could get at the guard position: he contributes so much to PAO's offense, got 29+ minutes of playtime in both games in this series. Their opponents, Maccabi, allow a lot of PIR. I will also leave Sloukas stat line in a series against Maccabi here: 2 GMs, 20.5 PTS, 11.0 FGA, 68/50/86%, 8.5 AST, 25.5 PIR.
Lorenzo Brown, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (12.3 credits)
Brown played 34 and 29 minutes in the first two games of the series. Wade Baldwin IV might continue his absence which would raise Lorenzo's fantasy value for another round, as he would likely have more to contribute without his star teammate. On top of all this, Brown's shooting splits are up again, and he is contributing in multiple stat categories. He is a great top-tier player recently.
Jordan Loyd, AS Monaco (10.4 credits)
Loyd's stat line in this series: 25 MIN, 15.5 PTS, 8.0 FGA, 56/57/90% shooting splits, 15.0 PIR. That is a nice stat line; however, I would love to see more shot attempts. This red flag separates him from a confident pick to a slightly risky pick.
Tamir Blatt, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (7.3 credits)
As expected, Blatt played big minutes (25) while Maccabi was missing Baldwin. If that remains the same, strongly consider him as your fantasy pick, in case you need to have a few cheaper guys on your team.
Forward
Nigel Hayes-Davis, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (15.5 credits)
Hayes-Davis, who played 39 and 29 minutes in the first two games, is a solid rebounder and great at drawing fouls. Moreover, he also contributes in the assists and steals departments. His shooting splits are great, he is attempting 10+ shots on average. Last but not least, both Johnathan Motley and Sertac Sanli are uncertain for Game 3, which could mean Hayes-Davis playing at the center position for some time. This increases the chances for him to see plenty of playing time.
Tadas Sedekerskis, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (12.0 credits)
Chima Moneke missed the first two games of this series, and Sedekerskis was projected to lock in more minutes, which did happen (26 and 31 minutes). However, despite having a lot of minutes, Sedekerskis played mediocre games (8 and 10 PIR). This is not even reaching his fantasy value. It is worth mentioning that Sedekerskis had a really good game (38 minutes, 23 points) in the domestic league last weekend. Despite that, Sedekerskis is a risky pick, as he didn't overperform his fantasy value in the first 2 games of Real Madrid-Baskonia series.
Konstantinos Mitoglou, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (11.7 credits)
Juancho Hernangomez will miss Games 3 and 4, hence Mitoglou's fantasy value is up. The first game with Hernangomez on the floor, Mitoglou played 21 minutes, the second game without him he had 35 minutes. Also, the full-season stat line discloses that Konstantinos is recording 26+ MIN, 12.6 PIR with Hernangomez, and 34+ MIN, 19.6 PIR without Hernangomez.
Jaron Blossomgame, AS Monaco (7.2 credits)
Blossomgame continues to see a lot of minutes - he did play 10 out of 11 last EuroLeague games above his season average. He is attempting 7.0 shots, grabbing 6.0 rebounds, that is not bad for a 7.2 credits guy.
Nikos Rogkavopoulos, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (5.3 credits)
If Moneke will remain out, Rogkavopoulos is a strong candidate to remain in as he is one of the prime candidates to get some of Moneke's minutes.
Antonius Cleveland, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (6.4 credits)
Another Maccabi player that slightly capitalizes on the opportunity that Baldwin is missing games. Cleveland adds a few minutes, as a consequence all other stats are spiking a little too, when Baldwin is not playing. If Wade will continue his absence, we could consider adding Cleveland.
Center
Mathias Lessort, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (18.3 credits)
Lessort's stat line in this series against Maccabi: 33 MIN, 16.5 PTS, 7.0 REB, 8.5 FLS RV, 24.0 PIR - singlehandedly one of the best centers in this fantasy basketball game in playoffs.
Josh Nebo, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv (15.0 credits)
One of the best, if not the best, rebounder in the league. Nebo is also capable of delivering 1 or 2 steals and blocks. However, he had a slow last game: only 19 minutes, 3 rebounds, 5 fouls, 2 PIR. The biggest red flag is his playtime (23+ season average), which is a little too low for a player priced at 15.0 credits.
Head Coach
Chus Mateo, Real Madrid (12.1 credits)
The biggest red flag is that Real Madrid will hit the road for Game 3. However, they had comfortable wins in the first two games of the series, and they have far more talent -- particularly if Moneke remains out.
Sarunas Jasikevicius, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (8.2 credits)
Fenerbahce is a formidable team at home, having lost only two games in their arena this season in EuroLeague. Their frontcourt injuries are concerning -- the team should provide some sort of update Tuesday -- but if Motley and Sanli both play Fenerbahce will be at full strength.
Georgios Bartzokas, Olympiacos Piraeus (9.0 credits)
Kostas Papanikolaou should be back in action, and Olympiacos will play at home, where they rarely lose, as evidenced by their 13-4 home record this season. However, they face a tough challenge against Barcelona.
Drop Candidates
Jerian Grant, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (10.3 credits)
Grant has lost huge minutes he used to get, now averaging 20 in this series against Maccabi (his season average is 28+ minutes per game). He is logging 7.0 PIR this postseason, which is not enough to exceed the cost needed to include him on your roster.
Throwing in some Game 3 wagers? Check out the latest Sportsbook Promo Codes!
