EuroLeague Primer: Round 12 - Friday

EuroLeague Primer: Round 12 - Friday

This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.

PREGAME UPDATES

THE SLATE

TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz at Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Key Injuries: Luca Vildoza (BAS), Vasilije Micic (IST), Tibor Pleiss (IST), Bryant Dunston (IST), Rodrigue Beaubois (IST)

Best Bets for Success: If you've been reading this column regularly you'll know Efes' Shane Larkin and Baskonia's Pierria Henry get a lot of love. That won't change this week, as both players figure to be plenty busy in Round 12 with Vildoza out and Micic limited at best. Baskonia has been pretty good against opposing guards, but Larkin has plenty of talent to overcome that and has averaged 31.3 points on DraftKings since getting back up to speed. Efes has not been stout against guards -- they are allowing the most points and fourth-most assists to players at those positions -- which sets up Henry for another big day.

DFS Darlings: Besides Henry, Baskonia does not have another guard capable of capitalizing on Efes' weakness. Zoran Dragic is as much a shooting guard as a small forward, though, and he has the scoring skills to take advantage. It should be noted that Efes has been real tough on opposing forwards. Although Alec Peters and Achille Polonara are listed as centers, they're closer to forwards, so their matchups are not as enticing as they seem. Adrien Moerman is getting a bit pricey, but if Efes remains short-handed he should be plenty involved again. Moerman is coming off his best game of the season and averaged 30.8 points on DraftKings over the last three Rounds.

FC Barcelona at Zalgiris Kaunas

Key Injuries: Victor Claver (BAR), Patricio Garino (ZAL)

Best Bets for Success: Nikola Mirotic's floor remains as high as anyone's, with the 29.3 DraftKings points and 30.8 FanDuel points he recorded in Round 11 both representing the second fewest he has put up in a game this season. There's still room for upside, too, as Mirotic is taking nearly three fewer shots and playing nearly four minutes less than he did last season. Zalgiris has handled forwards pretty well, but if Mirotic's opportunities increase Thursday, he's bound to wind up in 30-point range again. Zalgiris' Marius Grigonis will not have the matchup in his favor, either, as Barcelona has shut down opposing guards better than anyone but Zenit. The Spanish squad has been most vulnerable to opposing forwards, but Zalgiris doesn't really have the personnel to take advantage, so Grigonis remains their top option in this one. At least he will not cost you very much on either FanDuel or DraftKings, and he provides some of the most average value at his current prices.

DFS Darlings: Nigel Hayes hasn't been scoring as much as he was early on, but he has the skill set to take advantage of the matchup and return useful numbers in Friday's contests. Zalgiris is allowing a lot of points and threes to opposing guards, which will give Cory Higgins a chance to make more of an impact than he has lately.

Khimki Moscow Region at FC Bayern Munich

Key Injuries: Devin Booker (KHI), Stefan Jovic (KHI), Dairis Bertans (KHI), Nihad Dedovic (MUN), JaJuan Johnson (MUN)

Best Bets for Success: Things haven't been pretty at times for Alexey Shved, who is shooting just 33.3 percent from the field and is averaging a whopping 5.3 turnovers per game. His contributions in fantasy contests are undeniable, though, as he is easily averaging the most fantasy points on both FanDuel and DraftKings. Bayern has been middle-of-the-pack against opposing guards in most categories, so Shved's price tag should be the only concern for those considering including him in Friday's lineups. The German team continues relying mainly upon the trio of Wade Baldwin, Vladimir Lucic and Jalen Reynolds, and of that group, Baldwin and Lucic look like the top options in Round 12. Khimki has been pretty good against opposing centers, but they've had some issues with the other positions, allowing the second-most assists per-game to opposing guards and ranking bottom-5 against forwards in just about every category.

DFS Darlings: Khimki is seemingly the healthiest it has been in a while, as both Booker and Jovic are on track to play Friday. That's going to cause some turmoil in their rotation, as both players deserve a spot when they're at full speed. That might not happen right away, though, and it could still be worth grabbing a few players from this game, as it has easily the highest over/under on the slate. Janis Timma, Errick McCollum and Vyacheslav Zaytsev -- if any of them start -- are cheap enough to consider if you need to fill a roster spot or two. There will be a few minutes open in Bayern's frontcourt with Malcolm Thomas leaving town, and that could allow Paul Zipser to have another nice day, particularly given the matchup.

LDLC ASVEL at Real Madrid

Key Injuries: Rudy Fernandez (MAD)

Best Bets for Success: Not a whole lot changed for Madrid in its first game without Facundo Campazzo, as Sergio Llull did his best Campazzo impression and everything else remained relatively steady. Walter Tavares was Madrid's top player in that contest, and with ASVEL containing opposing forwards better than most, he remains their top option for Round 12. Moustapha Fall has been one of the top players in the league this season, but he is not ASVEL's top fantasy option at the moment. Those honors instead fall to Norris Cole and David Lighty, who both essentially doubled up Fall in fantasy points in each of the last two Rounds. Each player will have his work cut out for him, though, as Madrid is limiting assists and three-point attempts as well as anyone.

DFS Darlings: While Fall does not get top billing at the moment, you can still consider him on DraftKings, as his price dropped significantly and Madrid has not been very stingy on opposing centers. Llull is looking like one of the best bargains on both FanDuel and DraftKings, as his price did not spike after last week's strong showing.

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. Kevin O'Brien plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: kevob100, DraftKings: kevob100.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin O'Brien
Kevin mans the Packers and Brewers beats and moonlights as RotoWire's Director of Operations.
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