This article is part of our EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge Picks series.
Round 20 of the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge is ahead of us -- as are unlimited trades before the first game tips off.
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 ... the players!
Guard
Mike James, AS Monaco (18.7 credits)
Even though Jordan Loyd may be back, Elie Okobo is out after being suspended by the club. It's also essential to mention that James had only a 12 PIR game vs OLY last round; they managed to slow him down a little. Not a big surprise, as the team is the best defensive team at this moment in the league and allowed the least PIR to their opponents over the last five games. Monaco will face Baskonia, Panathinaikos and Real Madrid in the next three Rounds, and it might be a good idea to consider replacing James before the third game of the bunch.
Shane Larkin, Anadolu Efes Istanbul (18.7 credits)
The legendary 4-OT game Larkin had against Real Madrid, in which he played 53 minutes, was followed by a weekend of rest, as he didn't participate in the domestic league game. The upcoming double week for Efes includes games against Panathinaikos and Virtus, both of which might pose a challenge for Larkin. However -- note that these are distorted a bit due to the marathon -- Larkin boasts impressive statistics with 15.8 FG attempts, 4.8 FT attempts, 5.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 5.6 fouls drawn over the last five games. Despite the potential challenges, Larkin remains a solid pick for the double week because of his elite stats.
Paris Lee, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (12.2 credits)
Lee is in a favorable situation for the next two Rounds. ASVEL will play against teams that are not great at stopping point guards in Red Star and ALBA. Lee is playing 30+ minutes in the last 4 EuroLeague games, which is great. However, ASVEL recently sacked their head coach, which is always a risk that things might change. Especially when the president of a team shares concerns regarding the recently released coach playing only eight or nine players while having a very intense schedule. This might lead to decreased minutes for Lee. Yes, we do have a red flag here on one side, but we do have great player stats on the other. A little to think about, but definitely a considerable fantasy pick.
Shabazz Napier, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (10.6 credits)
Napier did play more or less as we expected last round: 26 minutes, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 fouls drawn. However, he made only 2 shots out of 10, had 5 turnovers, and got a PIR of only 2. The next opponent is ALBA, then Red Star and Valencia. All of those teams have one thing in common -- they don't defend point guards very well. Having in mind Nikola Mirotic, Shavon Shields, Maodo Lo and Billy Baron will still be out, we can consider having Napier on our fantasy team.
Daniel Hackett, Virtus Segafredo Bologna (10.8 credits)
Hackett is a solid fantasy pick because of a few aspects: the schedule and his stats. Virtus will take on Maccabi, Efes and ASVEL in the next three rounds, all of those teams allow a lot of PIR for their opponents. Moreover, his stat-line in the last 3 games is solid: 25+ minutes, 11.7 points, 55/58/75% shooting splits, 3.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.0 steals, 3.3 fouls drawn, 15.3 PIR. At this stage of the season, player keeps increasing his fantasy value (over the last 3 rounds it went up from 10.3 to 10.8 credits).
Vanja Marinkovic, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (6.8 credits)
Marinkovic is constantly on our list, mostly because of his price and his big volume minutes, decent rebounds, assists, steals. He is still increasing his fantasy value, but it will soon reach the roof though and will stop increasing unless his role changes.
Diego Flaccadori, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (5.7 credits)
With Lo and Baron still out, the backcourt rotation remains short for Milan. Flaccadori playing 20+ minutes recently and his shooting splits are 50/36/86% over the last 3 games. He is also contributing in rebounding, dishing out assists, drawing fouls which makes him a considerable pick at this price range for now until injured players will be back. Milan's next opponent is ALBA, the team that allows a lot of PIR for their opponents.
Forward
Nigel Hayes-Davis, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (14.6 credits)
Hayes-Davis, alongside Larkin, is playing the most minutes in the league (33+ per game). In the last game, Fenerbahce had a big lead at halftime, allowing Hayes-Davis more rest than usual. He also played only 12 minutes in the domestic league last weekend and is ready for another 30+ minutes game against Fenerbahce. His last 3-game numbers are solid: 30+ mins, 18.7 pts, 10.3 FG attempts, 6.0 rebs, 5.0 fls rv, 24.7 PIR. Matchups for the next 3 rounds might be favorable (Partizan, Bayern, Zalgiris - all teams showed vulnerabilities in stopping PFs).
Alpha Diallo, AS Monaco (12.4 credits)
Diallo is playing 27 minutes over the last 3 games. Also important to mention is that he is generating a lot of PIR by rebounding, assisting, stealing, and drawing fouls - that is ideal for a good fantasy player to have in his arsenal. On top of that, Diallo might have nice matchups at the SF position against the next 2 opponents: Baskonia and PAO. After those games, it is Real Madrid, probably a time when we will have to trade Diallo.
Elijah Bryant, Anadolu Efes Istanbul (7.7 credits)
Bryant played in that Legendary 4-OT game against Real Madrid (34 minutes playtime, not so bad) but got rested in the domestic league. Since coming back from injury, Bryant is recording 10.8 PIR per game - he is rebounding, assisting, and drawing fouls a little bit, attempting 8.3 shots per game. A red flag is the schedule: PAO, Virtus, Barcelona, Monaco (all of those teams allow >88 PIR per game for their opponents, all teams are TOP-8 in that category in the league). Obviously, this is concerning, but Bryant is only 7.7 credits, so he might be a possible pick to save budget for someone else.
Charles Kahudi, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne (4.9 credits)
Kahudi is the only player who reaches 30ish minutes per game over the last 3 rounds and costs below 5 credits. He is also producing decent numbers due to those big minutes: 6.3 pts, 5.3 reb, 1.7 ast, 8.3 PIR. The red flag is head coach change on the team, which might change the current role the player has.
Center
Walter Tavares, Real Madrid (16.1 credits)
I struggle to get a lot of center picks this season; hence, I am going for Tavares before this round, even though I do not like his fluctuating minutes per game (recently he played a little more though: 28, 24, 49 minutes over the last 3 rounds; we all know where that 49 minutes comes from). Anyway, his season average is 22:35 minutes, which is decent but not solid. Apart from that, he is great: rebounding a lot, stealing, blocking, a little contributing to dishing out assists, drawing fouls.
Moustapha Fall, Olympiacos Piraeus (13.9 credits)
Fall is really surprising me. He is getting about the same minutes as last season, but he stepped up his passing, blocking a little, committing fewer mistakes, shooting at a higher percentage (78% FG this season), recently was solid from the line (2.2/2.6 85% FT over the last 5 games). What's concerning the most is his playtime (only 20ish minutes per game). His next opponents Barcelona, Baskonia, Maccabi - they are average Center position stoppers in the league over the last 5 games. Having this info, plus your personal insights, now it's your call to add him in or not.
Head Coach
Ettore Messina, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan (7.6 credits)
Messina is one of the safest -- "safe" is a relative turn in this topsy-turvy season -- head coach pick for round 20. Milan will play at home against a 3-16 ALBA club. Milan does have a big injury list, but ALBA does too. What is left on both teams' rosters, Milan has more talent and experience.
Ioannis Sfairopoulos, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (6.3 credits)
Red Star is having a good run recently, winning against Partizan, @Fenerbahce, @Maccabi. Their opponent team in Round 20 - ASVEL - had a 10-game losing streak which they just snapped against Zalgiris last round. It is a risky coach pick as that will be a game in opponents' territory, but Red Star is favored and will likely be by more if their list of injured players -- Milos Teodosic, Luka Mitrovic, Yago Dos Santos and Branko Lazic -- shrinks before tip-off.
Alex Mumbru, Valencia Basket (6.1 credits)
Valencia will play against one of the worst record teams in the league, Zalgiris Kaunas. They will play at home. Zalgiris will still miss one of its best defensive players, Arnas Butkevicius, and new players Sumner and Hollins didn't jump into the team nicely; they are still trying to find their rhythm. Valencia is one of the best defenses in the league and did win in Kaunas (72:87).
Drop Candidates
Dzanan Musa, Real Madrid (14.1 credits)
Musa had his career game last round, so why am I considering him as a player to drop? Mostly I am looking at the schedule, which is: Bayern, Valencia, Monaco, Olympiacos. At the very least, two of those four games might be tough matchups for Musa (Valencia and Olympiacos). Tight matchups mean we will risk having Musa on our roster. I don't want to have a player, who is worth 14.1 credits, facing tough teams in 2 or maybe 3 rounds of next 4 games, with so many teammates that can take over a leadership role from Musa.
Joel Bolomboy, Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (11.1 credits)
Bolomboy injured his finger last EuroLeague game against Partizan. He did come back in the domestic championship last weekend; however, that was not a solid game: 13 minutes, 2 points (1/2 FG), 3 rebounds, 3 turnovers, 5 fouls. I would like to see a couple of next games against ASVEL and Milan and later maybe bring him back before he plays Baskonia and ALBA.
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