EuroLeague Primer: Round 28 - Thursday

Written by

Kevin O'Brien

Updated on March 3, 2022 7:29PM EST

PREGAME UPDATES

Monaco's Dwayne Bacon will be available Thursday.
Zalgiris' Tai Webster and Regimantas Miniotas will remain sidelined.
ALBA's Marcus Eriksson will miss another Round.
Red Star's Stefan Markovic and Maik Zirbes will sit out Thursday.
Efes' Krunoslav Simon was ruled out for Round 28.
Fenerbahce's Marial Shayok will not play Thursday.

STATS AND INFO.

THE SLATE

FBB Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul at EFS Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Status Check: Jan Vesely (FBB), Pierria Henry (FBB), Ahmet Duverioglu (FBB), Krunoslav Simon (EFS)

Best Bets for Success: Round 28 won't lack for excitement early, as the EuroLeague's two Turkish teams will square off in a must-win game for both clubs. The two teams occupy the ninth and 10th spots in the unamended standings, with the visitors owning a 12-12 record on the season and the home team having one more tally in the win column. Efes came out of the EuroLeague break hot, blowing out Maccabi behind big nights from Shane Larkin and Vasilije Micic. Both delivered when these teams squared off in Round 12, but they will have their work cut out for them Thursday, as Fenerbahce ranks top-5 against guards in numerous categories. Micic has been a bit hotter, dropping back-to-back double-doubles, but Larkin is returning quite a bit more average value on DraftKings. Fenerbahce is getting healthier, but they are still down a few players. Their best options for this one seem to be Marko Guduric and Dyshawn Pierre, with the former scoring at least 10 points in eight straight games and the latter taking on an Efes squad ceding the most points, rebounds, assists and field goal attempts to opposing forwards.

DFS Darlings: The hosts are favored by a fair number of points, but with both teams needing a victory rotations could be shortened, so it's probably best to not look too far down the board. On the Fenerbahce side, Nando de Colo has been up-and-down since returning, but he is down to an affordable $8,800 and his matchup will not be as tough as it was Sunday. Danilo Barthel looks like a bargain on DraftKings at just $5,000, as he seems to have stepped back into a regular role and gets the same matchup Pierre does. Elijah Bryant had his best game in months his last time out, and he will have a chance to produce again Thursday with Simon not expected to play. Last up is Tibor Pleiss, who is worth considering at $8,000 even with Fenerbahce shutting down centers better than anyone. Pleiss put up 23.5 DraftKings points in Round 12 and averaged 21.5 points on the same website over his last four appearances.

BKN Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz at CZV Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade

Status Check: Maik Zirbes (CZV)

Best Bets for Success: Both teams in this contest will essentially be at full strength, but there is some uncertainty on the Baskonia side, as a couple key players saw limited minutes in Tuesday's makeup game. What is known for sure is that Wade Baldwin will be the best bet to produce for the Spanish squad, as he averaged a whopping 35.1 DraftKings points over his last nine appearances and put up 54.3 DraftKings points Tuesday. Baldwin is pretty affordable at just $9,500, but he will have his work cut out for him, as Red Star ranks top-2 against guards in all of the points, rebounds, steals and FGA categories. The players on the Serbian club have taken turns sharing the load in recent Rounds, but no one is safer than Nikola Kalinic, who continues leading his team in fantasy points by a wide margin. He will clearly have the matchup in his favor Thursday, as Baskonia ranks bottom-4 against forwards in all of the points, rebounds, assists, three-pointers, field goal percentage and FGA departments.

DFS Darlings: Luka Mitrovic started at center in Red Star's last EuroLeague game, but he is listed at a forward, which brings him into play at $7,500. Nate Wolters also carries some appeal lat $8,400, as he is returning some of the most value on the board. No player on the slate is doing better in that department than Tadas Sedekerskis, who is puzzlingly priced at just $3,700. Sedekerskis has been pretty inconsistent, but he has hit the 20-point mark on DraftKings six times this season -- including in the last matchup between these teams in Round 10. The over/under on this game is the lowest on the board, so you might not want to go with too many players in this one. However, Rokas Giedraitis looks like one of the better upper-end values on the board at $8,600, and Simone Fontecchio looks pretty good at just $7,100.

ZAL Zalgiris Kaunas at BER ALBA Berlin

Status Check: Mantas Kalnietis (ZAL), Tai Webster (ZAL), Regimantas Miniotas (ZAL), Marcus Eriksson (BER), Louis Olinde (BER), Yovel Zoosman (BER)

Best Bets for Success: This game is also expected to be pretty low-scoring, but it does feature the smallest spread, with the home team favored by only a few points. Even with a couple pedestrian games lately, Luke Sikma still lands here for ALBA, as he is returning some of the most average value on the board and put up 31.5 DraftKings points when these teams met in Round 8. Maodo Lo comes in a bit hotter, hitting the 20-point mark on DraftKings in 10 straight appearances. Zalgiris is pretty neutral against players at all positions, so if you go with only one of those two players, it will come down to upside versus consistency. You could make a case for a few Zalgiris players here, and none of them will run you more than $8,700 on DraftKings. We're going to go with Tyler Cavanaugh and Lukas Lekavicius, as the former averaged 23.3 DraftKings points over his last eight appearances and the latter takes on an ALBA team ceding the most assists to opposing guards.

DFS Darlings: Joffrey Lauvergne and Edgaras Ulanovas just missed the cut above, but they still qualify here, as Lauvergne is one of the best bargains on the board at $6,400 and Ulanovas -- who also averaged 23.3 fantasy points over his last eight outings -- will run you just $7,800. Jaleen Smith is getting a bit pricey on DraftKings, but it is warranted, as he hit the 20-point on mark on DraftKings three times over his last five games and put up a season-best 28.3 fantasy points in Round 27. His prospects will hinge on Eriksson's availability, and it's looking likely he will remain sidelined.

ASM AS Monaco at BAR FC Barcelona

Status Check: Dwayne Bacon (ASM), Danilo Andjusic (ASM), Cory Higgins (BAR), Pierre Oriola (BAR)

Best Bets for Success: The last game of the day will be a fun one, as it features the highest over/under on the board, the player averaging the most fantasy points on the slate and the player who is the frontrunner for the MVP award. Barcelona is a double-digit favorite, but Monaco kept it close when these teams met back in Round 4 and needs a win to hang onto a top-8 spot in the standings. If they are going to come out on top, they will likely need a big night from Mike James, and he should have plenty opportunities to produce, as no team is allowing guards to get up more shots from both the field and the charity stripe than Barcelona. James is returning more average value than anyone on the board above the $6,400 mark. The favorite for the MVP, Nikola Mirotic, was a bit quiet in recent Rounds, but that has also brought his DraftKings price below $10,000, and that will make him tough to pass up. Monaco ranks bottom-4 against forwards in the points, rebounds, assists and FG% categories, and he too is returning some of the most average value on the board.

DFS Darlings: Brandon Davies had his best game of the season against Monaco in Round 4, and he will be in position to deliver again, as Monaco has not been stout against centers either. He could be a nice bargain at just $8,400. In a high-scoring game, Nick Calathes would bring a lot of potential to the table at $8,900, and Dante Exum is a nice option at an even $7,000. Barcelona has been tough on opposing frontcourt players, which does not bode well for a couple other players getting the job done for Monaco. The French team has been pretty top-heavy of late, but you could take a shot on Leo Westermann with Andjusic out.

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.