This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- Tornike Shengelia will be available off the bench for CSKA on Thursday, but fellow big man Joel Bolomboy will not suit up. Nikola Milutinov and Will Clyburn will start in their places.
- Johnny O'Bryant's Red Star debut will not come in Round 5.
- Zalgiris' Martinas Geben is out Thursday with a sore Achilles.
THE SLATE
Valencia Basket at 
Zalgiris Kaunas
Key Injuries: Joan Sastre (PAM), Patricio Garino (ZAL)
Best Bets for Success: Zalgiris sits atop the EuroLeague standings heading into Round 5, and they've gotten contributions from a number of players, with seven members of their roster averaging at least 7.0 ppg. Their best player has been Marius Grigonis, and although he struggled a bit last week and is facing a Valencia team that is stingy against opposing guards, he's still the most likely of any Zalgiris player to have a big day. If you buy into the negatives and pass on Grigonis, Joffrey Lauvergne and Nigel Hayes are next up for the Lithuanian team, with both players scoring in double figures and averaging at least five rebounds per game. Valencia big man Bojan Dubljevic remains the man for his club, and after a quiet Round 1, he averaged a healthy 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.0 steals over his last two games.
DFS Darlings: Points will be at a premium in this one, as neither club is allowing more than 70 per game. That limits the value plays a bit, but Valencia has a couple interesting prospects in Klemen Prepelic and Nikola Kalinic. Prepelic remains very affordable on DraftKings, and he has the scoring skills to return 5x value if he gets up enough shots. Kalinic averaged 25 points on DraftKings over Valencia's last two games and is easily leading his team in minutes. The veteran figures to be plenty busy again Thursday as Valencia attempts to knock off what is currently the top team in the league.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul at 
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
Key Injuries: Melih Mahmutoglu (ULK), Ahmet Duverioglu (ULK), Ioannis Papapetrou (PAN)
Best Bets for Success: Nando de Colo and Jan Vesely both filled up the box score again in Round 4, and in addition to averaging the second- and third-most DraftKings points on Thursday's slate they are also two of only five players who have returned 3x value at their current price. That's about as safe as safe comes in fantasy contests. Panathianikos' Marcus Foster is also in that group, and with Papapetrou sidelined the Greek squad will be counting on him to continue scoring the ball. Konstantinos Mitoglou should also be plenty active and, aside from Vesely, is the best bet to record a double-double on Thursday's slate.
DFS Darlings: Papapetrou is averaging 33 minutes per game, so his absence will no doubt open up opportunities for some of his teammates, and Howard Sant-Roos seems the most likely to cash in. Sant-Roos offers the most value on DraftKings at his current price, and after playing 32 minutes and getting up 13 shots in Round 4, he should see plenty opportunities again. Nemanja Nedovic and the returning Lefteris Bochoridis -- who started in Round 1 and runs just $5,000 on DraftKings -- are other names to consider.
CSKA Moscow at 
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade
Key Injuries: Tornike Shengelia (CSK), Janis Strelnieks (CSK)
Best Bets for Success: The top DraftKings scorer on Thursday's slate is Jordan Loyd, who like de Colo and Vesely is also returning 3x value. He's also leading the EuroLeague in points per game and is still the only player on his squad averaging double figures, so even though he will cost you a pretty penny on DraftKings there is plenty reason to include him in your lineups. Langston Hall is also worthy of consideration facing a CSKA team that has struggled to contain opposing guards. For the Russian squad, Mike James and Will Clyburn both averaged well over 20 points over their last three games despite them both coming off the bench in each contest. They are both good bets to hit that mark anytime out, whether they are starting or not. A word of caution for those considering James on DraftKings -- due to his price, he is returning the least value of anyone that costs at least five figures.
DFS Darlings: At his best, Nikola Milutinov is one of the top players in the league. It's not clear just how fit he is at this point, but if he handles a full workload he can return plenty of value, particularly with Shengelia slowed by a bout with food poisoning. For Red Star, Taylor Rochestie and Emanuel Terry are worth a look if you're looking for dart throws. Rochestie has averaged 11.5 points over 96 career EuroLeague games, and although he figures to come off the bench, his stat line in the club's last domestic league game would have left him just shy of 5x value on DraftKings. Terry doesn't have Rochestie's track record, but he had six points and seven rebounds in the same game and is ultra-cheap on DraftKings at just $3,500.
