This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- Efes' Krunoslav Simon remains out for Round 29.
- Monaco's Leo Westermann is unavailable for Friday's game.
- Zalgiris' Tyler Cavanaugh will not play Friday.
STATS AND INFO.
- Betting Odds
- Starting Lineups
- Injury Report
- Team Stats
- Opponent Averages
- Team Trends
- Twitter - @RotoWireEuro
THE SLATE
FC Barcelona at 
Zalgiris Kaunas
Status Check: Cory Higgins (BAR), Pierre Oriola (BAR), Tyler Cavanaugh (ZAL), Mantas Kalnietis (ZAL)
Best Bets for Success: The first game up Friday features two teams at opposite ends of whichever version of the standings you are looking at, and unsurprisingly, Barcelona is a pretty heavy favorite despite being the road team. The visitors have been carried by Nikola Mirotic all season, but he has not put up more than 21.5 DraftKings points in four appearances since the start of February, and his minutes could be limited Friday if Barcelona runs away on the scoreboard. Mirotic's track record still lands him here, and at $9,500 on DraftKings, it will be easier than usual for him to return 3x value if Zalgiris -- who has been playing better -- can keep the game close. Playing time is a concern for Nick Calathes as well, but with him back at 100 percent, he too will not have to do much more than usual to return useful value at $9,300. Seven different players on the Lithuanian team put up at least 23.0 points on DraftKings over its last five games, so it's not easy to identify the top options on their side. Cavanaugh likely would have been the pick, but with him sidelined, we're going to go with Edgaras Ulanovas. We don't feel great about it with him being shut out his last time out, but he did average 23.3 DraftKings points over the eight appearances prior to that. Plus, it's tough to choose which center to go with, and Barcelona is ceding the fewest assists to opposing guards.
DFS Darlings: The over/under on this game is not nearly as high as it is in the next game, but there are still quite a few potential bargains. While it's a toss-up whether Joffrey Lauvergne or Josh Nebo will have the better night, they can both be considered, as both are returning some of the most average value on the board. Lauvergne in particular is pretty intriguing at a minuscule $6,900. Janis Strelnieks is also in the mix at $6,700, and Niels Giffey has some appeal at $5,600 with Cavanaugh out. You could certainly make a case for Dante Exum to be included in the section above, but with him checking in at $8,400, we will keep him here. Exum's minutes and fantasy point total both increased in each of his last five appearances, and playing time will be less of a concern for him. Rokas Jokubaitis has taken a back seat to Exum of late, but with him playing in the gym he used to play his home games in, he could get enough opportunities Friday to get the job done at $6,300. Nigel Hayes-Davis will also be facing his former team, so he could be worth a look at just $5,800.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul at 
AS Monaco
Status Check: Krunoslav Simon (EFS), Danilo Andjusic (ASM)
Best Bets for Success: Round 29 will end with a fun one, as both these teams are fighting for playoff spots and the over/under is set at a lofty 167 points. Efes took it to Monaco when these teams met in Round 11, but this is expected to be a more competitive contest, as the away team is favored by only a few points. It's tough to say who among Mike James, Vasilije Micic and Shane Larkin has been the hottest, because, well, they are all scorching, with each regularly hitting the 30-point mark on DraftKings. Among the trio, only Larkin delivered during the last meeting, and he is also the cheapest option. James is averaging the most fantasy points over the course of the season, and Micic put up at least 32.0 points on DraftKings seven times over his last eight appearances. With enough affordable options on the board, you could certainly get away with including at least two of these players in your lineup -- and potentially all three. We were remiss to not mention Alpha Diallo and Donatas Motiejunas here a couple times recently, but we won't make that mistake again, as the former averaged 26.8 DraftKings points over his last 10 games and the latter putting up 26.7 DraftKings points per contest over the same span.
DFS Darlings: Both these teams have been a bit top-heavy of late, but that doesn't mean there aren't players to consider here, as the Turkish team ranks bottom-2 against forwards in points, rebounds, assists and field goal attempts per game and the French club ranks bottom of the barrel against frontcourt players in both the points and field goal percentage categories. Monaco has been particularly poor against centers, which makes Tibor Pleiss a bounceback candidate after a down game Tuesday and also gives Bryant Dunston some appeal at $7,300. Adrien Moerman nearly notched a double-double when these teams last squared off, and he won't run you all that much at $7,800. With the matchup firmly in his favor and his price down to $8,000, Dwayne Bacon has a lot going for him Friday.
