This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- Panathinaikos' Georgios Papagiannis will start Tuesday's game for Panathinaikos.
- CSKA's Marius Grigonis is officially out for Round 3.
- Bayern's Vladimir Lucic remains out for Round 3.
- O.J. Mayo will not make his UNICS debut Tuesday.
- Fenerbahce's Achille Polonara will not play in Round 3 for personal reasons.
- O.J. Mayo is not expected to make his UNICS debut Tuesday.
- David Lighty, Antoine Diot and Victor Wembanyama all remain out for ASVEL in Round 3.
STATS AND INFO.
THE SLATE
FC Bayern Munich at UNICS Kazan
Status Check: Vladimir Lucic (BAY), Paul Zipser (BAY), Leon Radosevic (BAY), O.J. Mayo (UNK)
Best Bets for Success: Bayern is slowly getting healthier, but it's looking unlikely any of the three players listed above will play Tuesday, so Deshaun Thomas snags the top spot for Bayern once again. Thomas easily reached double digits in Rounds 1 and 2 and is shooting 63 percent while averaging a team-best 30 minutes per contest. The Russian team has four players averaging over 20.0 DraftKings points per game, so there are a few options to consider here. For now, though, we'll go with only the steady Mario Hezonja here. Hezonja has reached double figures as regularly as anyone since returning to the EuroLeague earlier this year, and he has taken a whopping 30 shots through two Rounds.
DFS Darlings: Although UNICS' three other top producers haven't yet proven to be as consistent as Hezonja, they do all check in quite a bit cheaper on DraftKings, as none of Lorenzo Brown, Isaiah Canaan nor John Brown runs more than $7,900. It's tough to separate the three, but it appears unlikely Mayo will make his debut Tuesday, so they should all remain in their roles for another Round. UNICS has played a couple guard-heavy teams thus far, but they have also allowed players listed at the guard spots to put up over 50 points per game. The return of Nihad Djedovic complicates Bayern's backcourt a bit, but Darrun Hilliard deserves some consideration, and you could gamble on a $4,400 Ognjen Jaramaz, who has been quiet in EuroLeague play but keeps putting up good numbers in domestic games.
Zenit Saint Petersburg at 
CSKA Moscow
Status Check: Shabazz Napier (ZEN), Nikola Milutinov (CSK), Marius Grigonis (CSK)
Best Bets for Success: The two best teams in Russia meet for the first time in Round 3, and both teams will once again be without a key piece or two. CSKA has not officially ruled Grigonis out for Tuesday's game, but it appears both he and Milutinov will be unavailable, so most or all of the starters -- plus super sub Will Clyburn -- could reach or approach 30 minutes. Clyburn, Round 2 MVP Tornike Shenglia and Johannes Voigtmann are all appealing, but Zenit is pretty stingy on the defensive end, so be wary of using more than one of them. Seeing as Voigtmann has a history of stepping up when a key teammate is injured and is the most affordable of the bunch on DraftKings, he looks like the safest option for his squad. With Napier remaining out for the visitors, Jordan Loyd remains Zenit's clear top option on the offensive end. CSKA limited Loyd to nine points in Round 31 of last season, but Loyd did drop a career-high 31 on them in Round 5.
DFS Darlings: While CSKA will be a bit short-handed, their top-heavy roster has not afforded many opportunities to other players on the roster, so it's best to look elsewhere for value plays. Zenit has not gotten a lot from its complementary players, but Conner Frankamp remains in consideration on DraftKings at just $6,400.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul at 
LDLC ASVEL
Status Check: Shane Larkin (EFS), Krunoslav Simon (EFS), James Anderson (EFS), David Lighty (ASV), Raymar Morgan (ASV), Antoine Diot (ASV), Victor Wembanyama (ASV)
Best Bets for Success: The defending champions are off to a slow start, and things won't get easier for Efes on Tuesday, as they will be down a couple key forwards against an ASVEL team off to a 2-0 start. This would generally be a spot to look at both Larkin and Vasilije Micic, but the former was limited in Efes' last domestic game Sunday, so Micic gets top billing all to himself. The reigning MVP certainly looked the part in Round 2, draining seven triples en route to a 32-point day. Efes' backcourt -- particularly at full speed -- may be unmatched, but the top two guards on the French team have been nearly as outstanding thus far, as Elie Okobo and Chris Jones have combined to score 46.5 percent of the points ASVEL has put on the scoreboard. Both have seen their prices jump on DraftKings, but they are both still relatively affordable on that website, as neither runs more than $9,100.
DFS Darlings: Although both teams have only played two games, there are some interesting matchups to note in this one, as Efes has had all kinds of issues with opposing frontcourt players while ASVEL has been as stout against forwards and centers as anyone. Using that as a bit of a guide for this section, it could be worth gambling that James Gist will play a bigger role in his second EuroLeague game with the French team or Dylan Osetkowski will finally have a breakout game. Neither checks in at even $5,000 on DraftKings, and the player with the longer last name has a bit more upside. Given ASVEL's success against frontcourt players and Larkin's injury, the player seemingly in the best position to return value for Efes is Rodrigue Beaubois, who reached double figures regularly last season when starting. You could at least consider throwing a dart on DraftKings at a $3,600 Tolga Gecim, who although is listed as a forward, was mentioned specifically by head coach Ergin Ataman as a player who will need to step up.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul at 
ALBA Berlin
Status Check: Danilo Barthel (FBB), Marcus Eriksson (BER), Ben Lammers (BER), Johannes Thiemann (BER), Christ Koumadje (BER)
Best Bets for Success: With ALBA down every player listed at the center position and the team's leading scorer in EuroLeague play last season, Luke Sikma is the clear top option in a game that features all kinds of talent on the opposing side. Sikma is averaging 11.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game through two Rounds, with the latter two marks leading his team. Fenerbahce has a lot of options to consider here, as four players have topped 20.0 points on DraftKings each time they stepped on the court -- and none of those being Nando de Colo nor Achille Polonara. With ALBA extremely short-handed down low, expect the Turkish team's bigs -- particularly Jan Vesely and Devin Booker, who are both averaging at least 30.0 points on DraftKings -- to dominate.
DFS Darlings: ALBA's injuries opened up an immediate opportunity for youngster Oscar da Silva, and he put together a big night in the box score in his EuroLeague debut -- even with that coming against the ASVEL defense mentioned above. He will face another tough test in Round 3, but he should get the chance to build on last week's showing, and he will run you a measly $4,000 on DraftKings. A couple of da Silva's teammates are no longer the bargains they were previously, and Fenerbahce's roster looks a lot like CSKA's, so it's tough to count on anyone else in this contest -- maybe Marial Shayok -- coming through on DraftKings.
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens at 
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Status Check: Yogi Ferrell (PAO), Alec Peters (BKN)
Best Bets for Success: Wade Baldwin wasted no time asserting himself in his first EuroLeague appearance with the Spanish squad, taking seven more shots than anyone else on his squad. Rokas Giedraitis is off to a nice start for Baskonia, but expect it to be Baldwin's team moving forward. If Baldwin gets up a similar number of shots in Round 3, a big night could be in store, particularly with him putting up 27 points last time he saw Panathinaikos. The Greek team got the breakthrough game it was looking for from Nemanja Nedovic its last time out, and although he deserves a spot here for this game, Ioannis Papapetrou does as well. The latter is averaging a well-rounded 15.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists while tying Giedraitis with a league-leading 34 minutes per contest.
DFS Darlings: The Greek team has a number of intriguing options on DraftKings, provided Ferrell does not debut just a couple days after signing with the squad. Neither Daryl Macon, who stepped into the starting lineup in Round 2, nor Okaro White, who just missed a double-double his last time out, costs more than $6,700 on DraftKings. Jehyve Floyd has a shot to play 20 minutes against a Baskonia team that usually has a center on the court, and he checks in at just $4,400 on the same website. With Peters out to start the season, all three of Baskonia's remaining centers have had one -- but only one -- nice showing over the first two Rounds. At least one of them should have a nice day against a Panathinaikos team that has had little success against opposing centers, and you may want to gamble on Steven Enoch being that player, as at $6,000 on DraftKings, he is notably cheaper than both Matt Costello and Landry Nnoko.
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv at 
AX Armani Exchange Milan
Status Check: Ante Zizic (MTA), Troy Daniels (AXM)
Best Bets for Success: This game features four players off to stellar starts, as Maccabi's Scottie Wilbekin and Mathias Lessort and Milan's Nicolo Melli and Shavon Shields all rank among the top 11 in average index rating per game through two Rounds. For fantasy purposes, there is a clear delineation on either side, as Wilbekin is far more proven than Lessort and Shields is averaging nine more points on DraftKings than his teammate. Milan amazingly shut out Wilbekin last time the two sides met, but he was in a serious rut at that time, and the Wilbekin we've seen through two Rounds averaged 22.3 points in his three previous meetings with the Italian team. Meanwhile, Shields already has a 15-5-5 game and a double-double under his belt, and he will be in position to stuff the stat sheet again facing a Maccabi team that ranks near the bottom against opposing forwards in just about every category.
DFS Darlings: While Melli missed out on the top spot for his team, he can slot in here. Melli isn't a true value on DraftKings at $8,900, but his efficiency makes him one of the top options beneath the $9,000 mark. Jalen Reynolds has also fallen below that threshold, and while he is off to a slow start, his combination of price and upside makes him a bit better bet than Lessort, who has played in just one contest. Besides those players, Devon Hall and Konstantinos Mitoglou are both intriguing for Milan. Hall, at $5,600, reached double figures in both Rounds 1 and 2, and this could be the matchup Mitoglou needs to really make his mark with his new squad.
