EuroLeague Primer: Round 13 - Thursday

EuroLeague Primer: Round 13 - Thursday

This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.

PREGAME UPDATES

STATS AND INFO.

THE SLATE

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens at CSKA Moscow

Status Check: Ioannis Papapetrou (PAO), Georgios Papagiannis (PAO), Tornike Shengelia (CSK)

Best Bets for Success: The first game of the day is expected to be the least-competitive contest on the slate, as the home team is favored by double digits over a Panathinaikos squad that will be down one of its top three players and possibly another. Among that trio, Daryl Macon is the only healthy option, and that makes him his club's top pick for this contest. Macon has put up at least 19.5 DraftKings options in every game this season, and he will square off against a CSKA that ranks bottom-3 in terms of points and field goal percentage allowed against opposing guards. Papagiannis has a prime matchup and could be worth gambling on, but with it unclear how healthy he will be, he carries plenty of risk. The Russian squad has been getting steady production out of four players, but they could be down one of them with Shengelia uncertain. Will Clyburn looks like the safest among the bunch, having scored fewer than 16 points just three times over the past 11 Rounds. If Shengelia sits, though, Johannes Voigtmann could be just as appealing, and he checks in at an affordable $8,500 on DraftKings.

DFS Darlings: With Papapetrou ruled out for Round 13, there will be minutes and scoring opportunities available on the Panathinaikos side. The players most likely to soak those up are Nemanja Nedovic and Howard Sant-Roos, and neither checks in above $7,700 on DraftKings. The former brings a bit more upside, having put up at least 21.5 points on that website in three of his last six appearances. Should Papagiannis sit, Okaro White would likely benefit most, but Jeremy Evans could be worth a dart throw at $5,800. The Russian team has not been getting a lot beyond its top four, but you can again consider Nikola Milutinov and Marius Grigonis, as both are far too talented to be residing beneath the $7,000 mark.

AS Monaco at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

Status Check: Mike James (ASM), Leo Westermann (ASM), Jerry Boutsiele (ASM), Danilo Barthel (FBB)

Best Bets for Success: If Fenerbahce is going to get its season on track they will need to start here, so expect the veteran squad to come ready to play. Although he is coming off one of his poorer outings of the season, expect Jan Vesely to lead the way for the home team, as Monaco is surrendering the most points to opposing frontcourt players and also some of the most rebounds and attempts from the field. Nando de Colo and Pierria Henry enter this game on a roll, and Henry has the better matchup of the two, as Monaco is allowing some of the fewest points and threes to opposing guards while allowing backcourt players to rack up plenty of rebounds and assists. James and Donta Hall have been Monaco's best players this season, and both topped the 20-point mark on DraftKings five times in the last six Rounds. Both come with a red flag Thursday, though, as it's unclear if James is 100 percent and Fenerbahce has been stingier on centers than any other team in the league.

DFS Darlings: Given Monaco's issues with frontcourt players, both Devin Booker and Achille Polonara will be appealing value plays in Thursday's contests. Polonara has been a bit more productive in recent Rounds, but Booker has topped the 25-point mark on DraftKings four times this season, and he costs only a meager $6,800 on that website. While the Turkish team has been stout against centers, they have been anything but against players at the forward spots, ranking bottom-4 in all six counting stats. As such, all of Dwayne Bacon, Will Thomas and Alpha Diallo will all be worth considering at various price points. Should James wind up sitting, Paris Lee will be worth a look, having averaged just under 30 DraftKings points over the past two Rounds.

Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz at Zalgiris Kaunas

Status Check: Alec Peters (BKN), Joffrey Lauvergne (ZAL), Niels Giffey (ZAL), Paulius Jankunas (ZAL)

Best Bets for Success: Zalgiris resides at the bottom of the standings, but they are actually favored in this one, as they take on a Spanish squad with the worst point differential in the league. While it's been a tough season for Baskonia, Steven Enoch has been a bright spot, having averaged 18.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks over the last four Rounds. He should be able to keep things going in Round 13, as Zalgiris is allowing opposing centers to get up more shots than any other team. The Lithuanian team has not been getting particularly-steady output from anyone, but their best bet in this one seems to be Tyler Cavanaugh, as he has at least recorded 15.3 DraftKings points in seven straight appearances and will face a defense that ranks bottom-4 against players at the forward positions in nearly every counting stat. 

DFS Darlings: Baskonia forwards Rokas Giedraitis and Simone Fontecchio have taken a back seat to Enoch and Wade Baldwin of late, but they are down to more-appealing price points on DraftKings and are both returning some of the most average value on the board. On the Zalgiris side, Josh Nebo brings a lot of upside to the table at $7,500, as he could be ready to handle a full workload again after being eased back in following an ankle injury. It's anyone's guess who will come through in the Lithuanian team's backcourt, but Lukas Lekavicius is interesting at just $6,400.

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne at FC Bayern Munich

Status Check: David Lighty (ASV), Raymar Morgan (ASV), Antoine Diot (ASV), Victor Wembanyama (ASV), Dylan Osetkowski (ASV), Marcos Knight (ASV), Darrun Hilliard (BAY), Paul Zipser (BAY), Leon Radosevic (BAY)

Best Bets for Success: Both teams come into this contest with notable injury issues, as ASVEL will be down several key pieces and Bayern will be without its top scorer in Hilliard. While Hilliard's absence opens up some minutes in the backcourt, it seems likely Vladimir Lucic will shoulder the bulk of the scoring load, something he is perfectly capable of doing. He could be one of the best options on the DraftKings board Thursday, as he checks in at just $9,000 and takes on a defense that ranks bottom-4 against forwards in all of the points, rebounds and three-pointers categories. Elie Okobo and Chris Jones remain the top two options for the French team, with both continuing to regularly score in double figures and top the 20-point mark on DraftKings. It could be tough for both of them to come through Thursday, though, as Bayern is limiting opposing guards to some of the fewest attempts from the field. Both players are returning some of the most average value on the board, and even though he is the priciest player on the board, Okobo leads that list.

DFS Darlings: Nick Weiler-Babb and Deshaun Thomas are interesting options on the Bayern side, as the former played 35 minutes in Round 12 and should play a lot again with Hilliard out. As for Thomas, he gets the same matchup Lucic does. There won't be much for value on the ASVEL side, as William Howard is the only player beyond the top two contributing regularly, and he no longer fits in the "bargain" category at DraftKings at his season-high price of $9,500.

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv at Real Madrid

Status Check: Anthony Randolph (RMB), Trey Thompkins (RMB), Carlos Alocen (RMB), Jeffery Taylor (RMB)

Best Bets for Success: The minutes on the Spanish squad's roster have been spread out fairly evenly all season, and they could be even more so in Round 13, as both Randolph and Thompkins could make their season debuts. As such, their only truly-safe option Thursday appears to be Edy Tavares, who put up at least 25.5 points in each of the past there Rounds yet only averaged 25 minutes per contest. With Real Madrid limiting forward production as well as anyone and Tavares looming down low, Scottie Wilbekin looks like Maccabi's safest play for Round 13. Wilbekin has been a bit inconsistent, but he did record totals of 36.0 points and 58.0 points on DraftKings over the past three Rounds.

DFS Darlings: Given the playing time concerns on the Madrid side and the matchups Maccabi will face, don't expect to find much for DraftKings value in this one. A couple players to consider, though, are Thomas Heurtel and Ante Zizic, as both are returning some of the most value among players in the $8,000 range.

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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