This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- ASVEL's David Lighty will not be available Thursday, but Antoine Diot will be.
- ALBA's Marcus Eriksson and Yovel Zoosman will sit out Thursday.
- Milan's Konstantinos Mitoglou will play Thursday.
- Real Madrid's Thomas Heurtel is inactive for Round 27, but Adam Hanga is in uniform.
- Maccabi's James Nunnally and Angelo Caloiaro will be available Thursday.
- Efes' James Anderson is active for Thursday's contest.
STATS AND INFO.
- Betting Odds
- Starting Lineups
- Injury Report
- Team Stats
- Opponent Averages
- Team Trends
- Twitter - @RotoWireEuro
THE SLATE
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv at 
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Status Check: James Nunnally (MTA), Keenan Evans (MTA), Angelo Caloiaro (MTA), Roman Sorkin (MTA), James Anderson (EFS)
Best Bets for Success: The EuroLeague break is behind us, and the final push for playoff spots begins. The first game of the day will be pivotal, as the home team sits 10th in the standings while the visitors slot in 12th. If the reigning champions want a chance to defend their title, they will need their dynamic backcourt duo of Shane Larkin and Vasilije Micic to continue delivering. Both will be in position to do so Thursday, as the over/under on this game is easily the highest on the board and Maccabi ranks bottom-4 against guards in points, assists and three-pointers allowed per game. Larkin was the only one of the two to come through when these teams met in Round 16, as he finished with a season-high 51.0 DraftKings points. However, Micic did record at least 35.0 points on the same website in four of his last five appearances, and he checks in nearly $1,000 cheaper than his teammate. Perhaps no player entered the break hotter than Scottie Wilbekin, who averaged 32.9 DraftKings points over his last eight games. The Turkish team kept him under wraps in the last meeting, but he figures to be busier than usual Thursday with Evans sidelined, and he will have the matchup firmly in his favor, as Efes ranks bottom-5 against guards in five of the six counting stats as well as field goal attempts.
DFS Darlings: With plenty of points expected and matchups to target on both sides, the conditions are ripe for value plays. Maccabi will have a new head coach for this contest, but it does not seem there will be any major changes to the rotation right out of the gate. As such, with the Turkish team ranking last against players at the forward spots in all of the points, rebounds, assists and field goal attempts categories, you have to like the prospects of James Nunnally and Derrick Williams, particularly with Maccabi likely down a couple forwards. Nunnally did not play in his club's last EuroLeague game, but he likely recovered during the break, and at $8,500 he is returning some of the most value on the DraftKings board. Khyri Thomas -- just $4,600 on DraftKings -- is another player to consider on the Maccabi side, as he should be fully incorporated into the squad at this point and is the favorite to start in Evans' place. Another player to ponder at a minimal price is Elijah Bryant, who checks in at just $4,400 and will be taking on his former team. Last but not least is Tibor Pleiss, who has started to come on again and has put up at least 23.5 points on DraftKings nine times this season.
CSKA Moscow at 
FC Bayern Munich
Per an official announcement from the EuroLeague, "The following game corresponding to Round 27 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague has been suspended: FC Bayern Munich vs. CSKA Moscow. The decision has been taken by the Euroleague Basketball CEO as a precautionary measure according to Article 151 of the EuroLeague Bylaws and ahead of the meeting that the 18 teams of the competition will have on Friday, February 25, 2022."
Real Madrid at 
Zalgiris Kaunas
Status Check: Rudy Fernandez (RMB), Adam Hanga (RMB), Fabien Causeur (RMB), Carlos Alocen (RMB), Mantas Kalnietis (ZAL), Regimantas Miniotas (ZAL)
Best Bets for Success: This game features teams at opposite ends of the standings, so it should come as no surprise that the visitors are favored by a healthy margin. The Spanish squad's roster has been in flux for weeks, and they will be down a couple key players Thursday. Their one stalwart over the last month was Walter Tavares, who put up at least 33.3 DraftKings points in three of his last six appearances and averaged 28.5 points on that website over that span. Zalgiris has a lot of big men to throw at "Sergeant Swat," but he is returning some of the most average value on the DraftKings board. Zalgiris has a few players to consider in this spot, but with Real Madrid ranking top-2 against frontcourt players in all of the points, rebounds, assists, blocks and field goal percentage categories, it's likely the Lithuanian team's top producer will be in the backcourt. For that reason, we will go with Lukas Lekavicius, who is now clearly the top point guard for his squad with Kalnietis sidelined. Lekavicius has played 25 minutes in a game eight times this season, and in those contests he is averaging 12.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.1 threes. His price is back above $8,000 on DraftKings, but 3x value is still well within reach.
DFS Darlings: With some tough matchups on the Zalgiris side and the players on Real Madrid's roster sharing the wealth, it's tough to find a lot to like in this section. Guerschon Yabusele looks like one of the better upper-end values on DraftKings, though, with his price dropping back below $9,000. Yabusele has put up at least 26.3 points on that website 10 times this season. With the Spanish squad down at least a couple forwards, Gabriel Deck looks pretty good at $5,500, as does Jeffery Taylor at just $4,700. Despite the tough matchup, Joffrey Lauvergne is affordable enough to consider at $6,300. Lauvergne should be back at full speed now, and he hit the 20-point mark on DraftKings his last time out.
UNICS Kazan at 
Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Per an official announcement from the EuroLeague, "The following game corresponding to Round 27 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague has been suspended: Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz vs. UNICS Kazan. The decision has been taken by the Euroleague Basketball CEO as a precautionary measure according to Article 151 of the EuroLeague Bylaws and ahead of the meeting that the 18 teams of the competition will have on Friday, February 25, 2022."
AX Armani Exchange Milan at 
Olympiacos Piraeus
Status Check: Shavon Shields (AXM), Konstantinos Mitoglou (AXM), Riccardo Moraschini (AXM), Michalis Lountzis (OLY)
Best Bets for Success: The next game up will be the only one on Thursday's slate that features two teams that occupy a top-8 spot in the standings, and it is expected to be a grinder, as the home team is favored by only a few points and the over/under checks in below 150 points. There are a few players to consider in this section on both sides, but the best option for Olympiacos looks like Sasha Vezenkov, as no team has been tougher on opposing guards than Milan. Vezenkov has ripped off at least 25.5 DraftKings points in four straight contests and has hit that mark 11 times this season. Among the group of players to consider on the Milan roster, Malcolm Delaney and Kyle Hines appear to be the best bets. Delaney is back in top form, averaging 25.8 DraftKings points over his last four appearances, and Hines has a nice matchup, as the Greek team ranks bottom-5 against centers in five of the six counting stats -- and bottom-3 in steals in both steals and blocks -- as well as FGA.
DFS Darlings: The minuscule total does not bode well for bargains, and neither does the fact that both teams will both be as healthy as they have been in weeks. You can consider Troy Daniels, who has taken on a bigger role and remains just $5,000 on DraftKings. Moustapha Fall is worth a look against a Milan team that is pretty short on size.
ALBA Berlin at 
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
Status Check: Marcus Eriksson (BER), Louis Olinde (BER), Yovel Zoosman (BER), Elie Okobo (ASV), David Lighty (ASV), Raymar Morgan (ASV), Antoine Diot (ASV)
Best Bets for Success: The last game of the day will have minimal impact on the playoff race, but it should still be entertaining, as the over/under trails only the first game on the slate and the home team is only favored by a few points. Two players come in on a roll for ALBA, and those players would be Luke Sikma and Maodo Lo. The former is returning more average value on DraftKings than anyone above the $5,600 mark, and Lo has put up at least 20.8 DraftKings points in nine straight EuroLeague games. Sikma has the more inviting matchup of the two, but Lo fared far better when these teams met all the way back in Round 2. The French team will presumably be without both Okobo and Lighty, which means Chris Jones will carry the load for ASVEL. Jones has finished with fewer than 19.8 DraftKings points just three times all season, and he is averaging 15.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists when he gets up at least 10 shots from the field.
DFS Darlings: With both teams down some key players there will be some value plays to consider on both sides. Marcos Knight is the ASVEL player most likely to pick up the scoring slack next to Jones, and he checks in at a reasonable $8,900. Victor Wembanyama is also interesting at just $5,500, as ASVEL will likely give him more opportunities to contribute the rest of the way. Neither Ben Lammers nor Jaleen Smith will cost you even $7,000 on DraftKings, giving both the potential to return 3x value. You could also gamble on Oscar da Silva at $5,600 if all three injured players are out for ALBA.
