EuroLeague Primer: Round 26 - Friday

EuroLeague Primer: Round 26 - Friday

This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.

PREGAME UPDATES

STATS AND INFO.

THE SLATE

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade at UNICS Kazan

Status Check: Maik Zirbes (CZV), Marko Simonovic (CZV), Lorenzo Brown (UNK), John Holland (UNK)

Best Bets for Success: The first game of the day is expected to be contested on the defensive end, as the over/under on this game falls well below 150 points. The top player on the UNICS side, Brown, is questionable, so he will be a risky option in fantasy contests. There is reason to gamble, as Brown used to play for the Serbian squad, but Red Star ranks top-4 against guards in five of the six counting stats and is limiting players at those positions to the fewest attempts from the field, so you may want to hold off on going with the priciest option on the DraftKings board. With that in mind, we're going to list Mario Hezonja and John Brown as the two best picks on the Russian team's roster for Round 26. Both players stuffed the stat sheet when these teams met in Round 12, and Brown in particular seems like a good bet facing a team that ranks bottom-2 against forwards in steals and blocks. On the Red Star side, we can't look past Nikola Kalinic, who has not put up huge numbers in recent Rounds but remains the clear frontrunner on his team in fantasy points per game. UNICS has not been as stout against forwards as they were earlier in the season, and the matchup is more neutral than it was last time around.

DFS Darlings: The conditions aren't too appealing for value plays, but Isaiah Canaan is one of the better potential bargains on the board at $7,600, particularly if his backcourt mate is sidelined. Viacheslav Zaitcev, at just $3,500, could also be worth a dart throw in that scenario. On the Serbian squad, we will start with Nate Wolters, who remains an affordable $8,200. There are a couple other Red Star guards to consider, but they lose some shine with few points expected to be put on the board.

FC Bayern Munich at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

Per an official announcement from the EuroLeague"The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 26 game Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs. FC Bayern Munich, originally scheduled to be played on Friday, February 11, has been suspended. Bayern requested the suspension after several team members tested positive for COVID-19, which leaves the team without the minimum eight players on the Authorization List fit to play."

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens at LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne

Status Check: Ioannis Papapetrou (PAO), Jeremy Evans (PAO), Lefteris Bochoridis (PAO), Elie Okobo (ASV), William Howard (ASV), Raymar Morgan (ASV), Paul Lacombe (ASV), Antoine Diot (ASV), Victor Wembanyama (ASV)

Best Bets for Success: ASVEL is going to be particularly thin in the backcourt, and no team is allowing guards to do more scoring than Panathinaikos, so it should be another nice night for Chris Jones, who put up at least 27.8 DraftKings points in four of his last five appearances. Georgios Papagiannis looks like the best bet on the Greek team, particularly on DraftKings with him checking in at just $8,500. You could certainly make a case for Nemanja Nedovic, but he's pretty pricey these days.

DFS Darlings: David Lighty is a good option on DraftKings at just $7,300, and Matthew Strazel is worth a look at $4,400. Stefan Jovic could be ready to assume the lead guard role, and it won't cost you much to find out at $6,200. Okaro White also looks pretty good at $8,400, particularly if Evans is limited or unable to go.

FC Barcelona at Real Madrid

Status Check: Cory Higgins (BAR), Alex Abrines (BAR), Pierre Oriola (BAR), Guerschon Yabusele (RMB), Rudy Fernandez (RMB), Gabriel Deck (RMB), Jeffery Taylor (RMB)

Best Bets for Success: The final game before the EuroLeague is arguably the biggest game of the season to date, as in addition to bragging rights being on the line, the top spot in the standings is as well. Barcelona took home the win last time these teams met, and they were carried by Nikola Mirotic, who put up a season-high 45.5 points on DraftKings. He's going to be tough to pass up at $9,800, as he is returning the most average value on the board, and the potential upside masks the fact Real Madrid is faring as well against forwards as anyone. Yabusele should play Friday, but with it being possible he is not 100 percent, Walter Tavares will be the only Madrid player listed here for Round 26. Tavares recorded at least 29.3 DraftKings points in three of his last five appearances and has put up at least that many points on that website 11 times this season.

DFS Darlings: Nick Calathes has not tossed up a huge number on DraftKings since returning to action earlier this month, but his output has steadily increased, and this could be a spot where he stands out. Brandon Davies will be a nice option with his price falling to just $7,500 on DraftKings, and Kyle Kuric will be as well at relatively the same rate. Dante Exum has come on for Barcelona and remains just $6,100. With Real Madrid down a number of forwards, Alberto Abalde looks pretty good at $7,100, and you could also gamble on Trey Thompkins at $5,200. Madrid will be at full strength in the backcourt, but Thomas Heurtel could be a bit limited, so don't overlook Sergio Llull at $7,200. Llull is no stranger to this rivalry, and he averaged 10.6 points and 17.0 DraftKings points over his last five appearances.

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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