This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- ASVEL's Elie Okobo and Charles Kahudi will be available for Thursday's contest.
- Fenerbahce's Jehyve Floyd is set to make his Fenerbahce debut in Round 17.
- Real Madrid's Rudy Fernandez will be available for Thursday's game, but Carlos Alocen and Eli Ndiaye will not be.
- Olympiacos' Quincy Acy will not play Thursday.
- Panathinaios' Howard Sant-Roos will not suit up for Round 17.
- Bayern's Zan Mark Sisko will suit up Thursday, but Nihad Djedovic will not.
- Baskonia's Simone Fontecchio will not play Thursday due to an illness. However, Arturs Kurucs arrived in Munich on Thursday and will be available for Round 17.
- Real Madrid's Adam Hanga tested positive for COVID-19 and will not play Thursday.
- Zenit's Jordan Loyd and Dmitry Kulagin will play in Round 17, but Jordan Mickey will not.
- Maccabi's Roman Sorkin will not suit up for Round 17.
STATS AND INFO.
- Betting Odds
- Starting Lineups
- Injury Report
- Team Stats
- Opponent Averages
- Team Trends
- Twitter - @RotoWireEuro
THE SLATE
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv at 
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Status Check: Jordan Loyd (ZEN), Jordan Mickey (ZEN), Shabazz Napier (ZEN), Dmitry Kulagin (ZEN), Denis Zakharov (ZEN)
Best Bets for Success: Thursday's action begins with a matchup of teams trending in different directions, as the visitors enter amid a 1-7 slump and the hosts come in the winners of two straight. It's not yet clear if Loyd will be available for Round 17, but if he is, he will be in prime position to hit the 30-point mark on DraftKings for the fifth time in eight Rounds against a Maccabi team allowing opposing guards to score nearly two more points per game than any other team. Scottie Wilbekin has been Maccabi's steadiest producer in recent Rounds and is returning some of the most average value on the board, but he will face a tough test Thursday, as Zenit is ceding the fewest threes to opposing backcourt players and also ranks top-4 in points, rebounds and field goal attempts allowed. With that in mind, Ante Zizic may be his team's safest option Thursday. Opposing centers are grabbing fewer rebounds against Zenit than any other team, but the Russian squad does rank bottom-5 against players at those positions in all of the points, blocks, FGA and FTA categories.
DFS Darlings: With Maccabi allowing backcourt players to do more scoring than anyone, Billy Baron -- particularly if Loyd sits -- will be pretty appealing on DraftKings at $7,300. Sergey Karasev could also be a bargain at $5,000 if both Loyd and Kulagin sit. On the Maccabi side, Keenan Evans earns a mention after topping the 30-point mark in consecutive Rounds, and James Nunnally and Jalen Reynolds could be worth a look as well. Like Wilbekin, Nunnally is returning quite a bit of average value at his $8,900 price point, and Reynolds brings a lot of upside to the table at a season-low $6,800.
Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz at 
FC Bayern Munich
Status Check: Rokas Giedraitis (BKN), Alec Peters (BKN), Tadas Sedekerskis (BKN), Arturs Kurucs (BKN), Darrun Hilliard (BAY), Paul Zipser (BAY), Zan Mark Sisko (BAY), Leon Radosevic (BAY)
Best Bets for Success: Both teams will be down several players in this one, but the absences on the Baskonia side are far more notable, as they will be down the two players that have started regularly at the forward spots since changing coaches several weeks ago. They will have their starting center available, though, and that is Steven Enoch, who averaged 14.9 points and 8.1 rebounds over his last eight Rounds. Bayern is not allowing centers to get up many shots, but few players have been able to match Enoch's consistency in recent Rounds. The top option for the home team remains Vladimir Lucic, who recorded at least 29.0 points for the third time in four Rounds his last time out. Baskonia has had issues with opposing forwards, so another big night could be in store for Lucic.
DFS Darlings: With Baskonia down a couple key contributors, they will have a couple interesting high-end value plays in Simone Fontecchio and Wade Baldwin. The former hit the 20-point mark on DraftKings seven times in nine games prior to his Round 16 dud, and the latter should have some extra juice facing the team he played for last season. With an appealing matchup, Deshaun Thomas will be worth considering on the Bayern side. Nick Weiler-Babb will be as well, as his well-rounded game is a good fit against a Baskonia team that ranks bottom-5 against opposing guards in all of the rebounds, assists and steals categories.
Olympiacos Piraeus at 
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
Status Check: Quincy Acy (OLY)
Best Bets for Success: The first Greek Derby of the EuroLeague season will take place Thursday, and you can bet the visitors will be fired up after dropping a domestic game to Panathinaikos on their home court a month ago. Olympiacos sits 14 places higher in the standings than their counterparts, but they have not been nearly as good away from home as they have been in Peace and Friendship Stadium, so expect this one to be plenty competitive. The hosts have been carried by Daryl Macon -- save for Round 16 -- and Georgios Papagiannis, and both are returning some of the most average value on the board. However, they will both be pretty risky, as neither will have an inviting matchup. Olympiacos has been getting steady production from both Sasha Vezenkov and Tyler Dorsey. The outlook is better for these two players, as Vezenkov dropped a double-double when these teams met last month, and Dorsey takes on a Panathinaikos defense allowing opposing guards to make more threes than any other team.
DFS Darlings: Olympiacos has not had many steady contributors outside their top two players, but you can certainly consider Kostas Sloukas in this one, as he is returning some of the most average value on the board and, as a native of Greece, knows as well as anyone what is at stake Thursday. Ioannis Papapetrou is another Greek to consider, particularly with him remaining at a season-low $7,600 on DraftKings. Nemanja Nedovic is also worth a look, as he dropped 24 points last time he saw Olympiacos and checks in at a reasonable $7,800. Both teams will be at full strength in this one, so don't expect much from players outside each team's regular rotation.
Status Check: Guerschon Yabusele (RMB), Anthony Randolph (RMB), Thomas Heurtel (RMB), Vincent Poirier (RMB), Trey Thompkins (RMB), Alberto Abalde (RMB), Rudy Fernandez (RMB), Fabien Causeur (RMB), Carlos Alocen (RMB), Juan Nunez (RMB)
Best Bets for Success: This game will be pretty interesting, as Real Madrid will be down at least seven key contributors. They will still have Edy Tavares, and they will need a big game from him Thursday if they hope to keep pace with a CSKA team that enters on a 6-2 run. The Russian team will no doubt focus squarely on Tavares, but he should get as many minutes as he can handle and will face a team that ranks bottom-3 against opposing centers in all of the points, rebounds and blocks categories. It's no easy task identifying CSKA's top options, as eight different players reached the 20-point mark on DraftKings over the last three Rounds. Alexey Shved was the only player to do so in all three of those contests, and he should be able to capitalize on Madrid's thin backcourt. Tornike Shengelia has also earned a spot here, as he is back at full speed and is returning more average value than any other player on the board.
DFS Darlings: Every established player on the Madrid side will be worth a look, as the Spanish squad will need them all to play heavy minutes. That list includes Nigel Williams-Goss, Sergio Llull, Jeffery Taylor, and Fernandez if he plays. Tristan Vukcevic -- just $4,600 on DraftKings -- is the most appealing option among the prospects who will suit up for Real Madrid in Round 17. The amount of uncertainty in this one affects the players on CKSA's roster as well, as their top players could spend more time on the bench if the game gets out of hand. Still, Nikola Milutinov is worth considering at $8,300, and Marius Grigonis remains in consideration with his price slipping to $5,900.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul at 
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
Status Check: Devin Booker (FBB), Danilo Barthel (FBB), Jehyve Floyd (FBB), Ahmet Duverioglu (FBB), Elie Okobo (ASV), David Lighty (ASV), Raymar Morgan (ASV), Charles Kahudi (ASV), Victor Wembanyama (ASV), Kostas Antetokounmpo (ASV)
Best Bets for Success: The first half of the season finishes up in France and features a Fenerbahce team that has won four straight and an ASVEL team that got off to a hot start but has fallen on hard time. The Turkish team will no doubt be led by its dynamic duo of Jan Vesely and Nando de Colo. ASVEL has been pretty tough on both guards and centers, but both players recorded at least 25.3 DraftKings points in each of the last four Rounds. The French squad's top player this season has been Okobo, but he has struggled of late and is banged up, so Chris Jones looks like his team's safest option in Round 17. Jones was shut out in Round 16, but he put up at least 23.5 DraftKings points in six straight Rounds prior to that.
DFS Darlings: With Booker out for the visitors, Achille Polonara will be one of the best value plays on the board. Polonara has not been nearly as productive as he was last season with Baskonia, but he scored a season-high 15 points his last time out and should step in to the starting center spot. Dyshawn Pierre is also interesting against an ASVEL team that is giving up the most points to opposing forwards and ranks bottom-5 in three other counting-stat categories. With all kinds of forwards out for ASVEL, William Howard will be plenty appealing at $7,400, and Dylan Osetkowski deserves consideration at $6,700.
