This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- Walter Tavares and Sergio Llull will play for Real Madrid on Thursday, but Carlos Alocen will sit out with an injured finger.
- Fenerbahce's Nando de Colo will play against Real Madrid.
- CSKA's Tornike Shengelia will not play Thursday due to an eye injury.
- Zalgiris' Joffrey Lauvergne will not suit up for Round 34.
THE SLATE
Status Check: William Howard (ASV), Matthew Strazel (ASV), Mike James (CSK), Nikola Milutinov (CSK), Joel Bolomboy (CSK)
Best Bets for Success: The final round of the regular season gets underway with a matchup between two of the weakest backcourt defenses in the league, so it's definitely worth considering guards from both teams. Norris Cole was effectively limited by Zenit in last week, but he averaged 24.6 DFS over five previous games and ASVEL's star wasn't the only guard stopped by Zenit's stingy defense. He bounced back in a makeup game against Maccabi on Monday with 17 points. Guerschon Yabusele flirted with a double-double in the same game, finishing just one point short of achieving that for second time in last three outings. He now averages 24.2 DFS points in last five and comes with an $8,400 price tag on DraftKings slate. Iffe Lundberg's playing time and production should continue to rise with James sidelined. In the last two outings Lundberg averaged 20.9 DFS points and 21.5 minutes on the court. Will Clyburn has recorded double figures in the points column in five straight games and has averaged 24.6 DFS points over that span. In Round 33 he spent only 18 minutes on the court, so he should be plenty rested.
DFS Darlings: If Howard sits this one out, Charles Kahudi will probably claim a big chunk of his playing time. Kahudi averaged just 10.8 DFS points in last three outings but he didn't get many chances to produce, averaging just 15.3 minutes per game. Antoine Diot and Derrick Walton are interesting budget backcourt options, averaging 15.6 and 14.1 DFS points, respectively, in their last four appearances. Diot is third best in three-point percentage in the league, shooting 51.9 percent behind the arc. Micheal Eric has claimed CSKA's center slot in recent weeks. He has averaged 22.4 DFS points while making three straight starts, and has been a big contributor in the rebound department.
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens at 
Zalgiris Kaunas
Status Check: Georgios Kalaitzakis (PAN), Joffrey Lauvergne (ZAL), Nigel Hayes (ZAL), Augustine Rubit (ZAL), Arturas Milaknis (ZAL)
Best Bets for Success: Star guard Nemanja Nedovic has recovered from a calf injury and is back in action. He already made an appearance in Round 33 and most likely will be ready for full workload against Zalgiris. Nedovic averaged 31.5 DFS points in his last five starts back in January and was one of the best guards in the league at that point. Mario Hezonja has scored in double digits in every appearance for The Greens so far and has averaged 27.8 DFS points per game. He is available at $8,700, the highest of all Pana's frontcourt players on the slate. Thomas Walkup will have a favorable matchup in Round 34, as Panathinaikos is second-worst in the league in defense against guards, ahead of only Khimki. Walkup has produced 20 or more fantasy points in five consecutive games now and has averaged 24.5 DFS points over that span. Paulius Jankunas could play big minutes in this game due the absences in Zalgiris' frontcourt. The veteran forward has regularly been spending over 20 minutes on court in recent Rounds, and he could feature even more on Thursday night. Jankunas averaged 14.3 DFS points and 6.4 rebounds over his last five games.
DFS Darlings: Lukas Lekavicius has scored in double figures and dished out five assists in each of last two games. His price on DraftKings has been bumped up to $6,200, but he's definitely worth a shot considering his form. Karolis Lukosiunas featured in last three games and will likely get another chance in his club's last game of the season. His best appearance came in Round 32 against ALBA, when the young shooting guard scored 12 points in just 13 minutes on the court. Lukosiunas is available on DraftKings slate for mere $4,000.
Real Madrid at 
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
Status Check: Walter Tavares (MAD), Sergio Llull (MAD), Anthony Randolph (MAD), Nando de Colo (ULK), Jan Vesely (ULK), Edgaras Ulanovas (ULK)
Best Bets for Success: Walter Tavares hasn't missed a single EuroLeague game this season, and although he may still be feeling some soreness, he figures to be plenty busy Thursday. Tavares' presence will be crucial in this game, as he is by far the best player on Madrid's roster, averaging 11.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He averaged 32.1 DFS points in his last five outings and notched two double-doubles. Usman Garuba will be the next-best play in Real's frontcourt. Garuba is priced by DraftKings at only $7,200 and averaged 25.1 DFS points in his last three. Fenerbahce's Nando de Colo is another star struggling with injury and racing against time to make it on the court for the season finale. de Colo injured his knee is last week's outing against Barcelona and finished with his fewest fantasy points in his last 11 showings. In the five games before Round 33, though, he averaged 32.1 DFS points, and Fenerbahce will be hoping for as much as they can get out of him with Vesely out. Marko Guduric is close to reaching his form from start of this year, when he was regularly delivering for daily fantasy teams. He scored 18 and 19 points in the last two outings and averaged 22.5 DFS points.
DFS Darlings: Kyle O'Quinn and Ahmet Duverioglu will share the center duties in the absence of Vesely. O'Quinn looks especially interesting at $6,700, and he will most likely see more minutes on the court, even if he does not start. O'Quinn averaged 19.7 DFS points over his last three outings, and put up a season-high 17 points in Round 33 with Vesely out of commission. Lorenzo Brown averaged 25.7 DFS points in five games without de Colo on the court, earlier this season, and he will be in the pole position to fill in if Fener's star is unable to go.
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade at 
ALBA Berlin
Status Check: Duop Reath (RED), Quino Colom (RED), Maodo Lo (BER), Kresimir Nikic (BER)
Best Bets for Success: Jordan Loyd was undisputedly Red Star's best player this season and he looks like the top play in this matchup. He averaged 34.3 DFS points over his last five and is the third-best scorer in the league at 17.6 points per game. Loyd was his team's top scorer last time these team squared off in December, and he could thrive again Thursday, especially if both teams focus on offense as they try to put on a show in their final game of the season. Peyton Siva just missed a double-double last time out, finishing with nine points and as many rebounds. In his last four starts he averaged an impressive 31.7 DFS points, and he will face a rather favorable matchup, as Red Star is among the weakest backcourt defenses in the league. Simone Fontecchio's scoring form has picked up again after some quiet games in March. In Round 33 the Italian scored 16 points, and he looks to be back in form. Fontecchio is valued at just $7,300 -- his lowest since February -- so he will probably be a quite popular pick.
DFS Darlings: Ognjen Dobric keeps producing from the bench for Red Star, with an average of 16.2 DFS points over his last five outings and double digits in the points column in the last two. He is priced at $6,500 on the DraftKings slate, though be aware Corey Walden is set to return. Johannes Thiemann produced an average of 16.0 DFS points over his last four despite spending an average of just 13 minutes on the court.
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz at 
Valencia Basket
Status Check: Pierria Henry (BAS), Tonye Jekiri (BAS)
Best Bets for Success: Thursday's slate finishes with an all-Spanish clash that will have major playoff implications. Baskonia lost only two of its last 11 games, and no one contributed to that run more than Achille Polonara. He averaged an unbelievable 47.0 DFS points and 38 minutes on the court over the last three games and added two double-doubles to his account. Polonara, along with Khimki's Jordan Mickey, were named co-MVPs last week. Alec Peters played one of his best games this season in the Round 33 shootout with Efes. He was just one rebound short of a double-double and produced 35.3 DFS points. Both Polonara and Peters are expected to feature heavily on Thursday night, and it's worth remembering that Valencia has been one of the weakest defenses against frontcourt positions this season. Klemen Prepelic scored a season-best 24 points his last time out, delivering 39.8 DFS points for fantasy players. In the absence of Martin Hermannsson, Prepelic's playing time went up quite a bit. Hermannsson will be back Thursday, but head coach Jaume Ponsarnau could -- and should -- continue riding the hot hand. Nikola Kalinic's well-rounded performances are one of the main reasons Valencia remains in position to grab a spot in the quarterfinals. He averaged 24.9 DFS points over his last five, and this number would be more impressive if not for a shorter outing against Olympiacos in the first game of the last double week. Kalinic has made at least two tallies in each of the points, rebounds and assists columns in 14 consecutive games.
DFS Darlings: Tadas Sedekerskis will probably record a fourth consecutive start, and he could be more active than usual if Henry is unavailable or limited. The young Lithuanian averaged 26 minutes over his last three showings, contributing to all areas of the game. Derrick Williams seems a bit underpriced on DraftKings slate at $6,800. He averaged 20.8 DFS points over his last four games, and over that span, he started three times and also scored in double figures in three.
