Round 17 Preview: Panathinaikos at CSKA

Round 17 Preview: Panathinaikos at CSKA

Panathinaikos at CSKA

Date: 1/3
Time: 6:00 PM CET

Game Preview

It seems nearly every week a pair of the league's best point guards are squaring off, and that will again be the case in Round 17 as Nick Calathes and Panathinaikos head to Russia to take on Mike James and CSKA. Besides the two top point guards, this matchup also features two of the healthiest teams in the league, as no players who have filled rotation spots of late are even questionable. CSKA has been rolling at home, winning four straight and all but one game in Megasport Arena this season, so Panathinaikos will need Calathes and the rest of its top players to perform well to come away with a victory.

Injuries

Panathinaikos

None

CSKA Moscow

Will Clyburn - OUT - Knee

11/11 8:25 PM IST - Clyburn underwent surgery Monday to repair the torn ACL in his right knee, John Askounis of Eurohoops.net reports. The operation officially spells an end to Clyburn's season after the 29-year-old injured his knee during CSKA Moscow's Round 4 game in EuroLeague play. Clyburn will return to Moscow to continue his rehab and is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the 2020-21 season.

Mikhail Kulagin - OUT - Calf

12/12 3:15 AM IST - Kulagin (calf) will not play Thursday against Maccabi Tel Aviv, according to CSKA's official website. Kulagin has missed nearly two months as a result of his injury, and it remains to be seen when he will be ready to return to action.

Panathinaikos Probable Starters

G - Nick Calathes
G - Jimmer Fredette
F - Deshaun Thomas
F - Ioannis Papapetrou
C - Georgios Papagiannis

CSKA Moscow Probable Starters

G - Mike James
G - Daniel Hackett
F - Nikita Kurbanov
F - Johannes Voigtmann
C - Kyle Hines

Top Picks

(C) Mike James, MOS - James has been a big-time contributor all season for CSKA, and he has been particularly productive of late, averaging 24.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists over his team's last three EuroLeague games.

Nick Calathes, PAN - Calathes does not score as much as James, but he is averaging more rebounds (5.1) and assists (8.6) per game over the entire season than James put up in his recent three-game stretch. He's a triple-double threat each time he takes the court, making him a fine option for the captain spot if that doesn't go to James.

Jimmer Fredette, PAN - Fredette has been a bit inconsistent lately, but he has averaged 2.4 more points per game since Rick Pitino took over as head coach and has started to do more than simply score the ball, grabbing a season-high nine rebounds last week and stealing more passes over his last four games than his first 11.

Johannes Voigtmann, MOS - It was around this time last year Voigtmann started putting up big numbers for Baskonia, and he has started to do the same this season, averaging 14.5 points and 6.5 rebounds over the last two games after averaging just 5.8 points and 5.0 rebounds prior to that.

Captaincy Options

  1. Mike James
  2. Nick Calathes

Dream11 team:

PG: Nick Calathes (captain), Mike James, Daniel Hackett

SG: Jimmer Fredette

SF: Nikita Kurbanov

PF: Johannes Voigtmann

C: Georgios Papagiannis, Joel Bolomboy

Grand League Combination

Calathes, James, Voigtmann, Fredette

Small League Combination

Calathes, James, Voigtmann, Fredette

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.
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Kevin O'Brien
Kevin mans the Packers and Brewers beats and moonlights as RotoWire's Director of Operations.
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