Barcelona at Panathinaikos
Date: 2/21
Time: 8:30 pm CET
Game Preview
Two teams currently comfortably in playoff position match up when Barcelona heads to Greece to take on Panathinaikos on Friday. Both teams feature MVP candidates, with the visitors leaning on Nikola Mirotic and the Greek club relying upon the diverse skill set of Nick Calathes. Both teams are nearly at full strength, so expect the rotations for each club to remain steady in Round 15. Barcelona has won five EuroLeague games in a row, and they will no doubt be feeling confident against a team they beat by 12 points in Round 13. However, Panathinaikos is 10-3 on its home court this season, so by no means will they be an easy out.
Injuries
FC Barcelona Lassa
Thomas Heurtel - OUT - Ankle
2/20 9:33 PM IST - Heurtel (ankle) will not play Friday against Panathinaikos, according to La Vanguardia. Heurtel injured his ankle in Barcelona's last EuroLeague game nearly two weeks ago, but he is still not able to practice nor play. It remains to be seen if he will be ready to take the court in Barcelona's Round 26 matchup with CSKA.
Kevin Pangos - OUT - Toe
1/26 6:27 AM IST - Pangos (toe) is still not practicing with his teammates, according to Ernest Macia of Catalunya Radio. It was reported earlier this month that Pangos was getting close to playing, but he has apparently not made much progress since then. Unless he is able to get some work in over the next few days, don't expect Pangos to return to action until after January comes to a close.
Panathinaikos
Andy Rautins - GTD - Finger
2/18 10:46 PM IST - Rautins suffered a right finger injury in practice, according to to10.gr. Panathinaikos is optimistic that Rautins will be able to take the court when it resumes EuroLeague play Friday, but his status will be uncertain until another announcement is made.
Jacob Wiley - OUT - Ankle
2/20 8:34 PM IST - Panathinaikos coach Rick Pitino ruled Wiley (ankle) out for Friday's Round 25 matchup with FC Barcelona, Eurohoops.net reports. Wiley will require at least one week off while he waits for his sprained ankle to heal. The American forward hasn't regularly factored into Pitino's rotation of late, logging no more than six minutes in any of Panathinaikos' last five EuroLeague outings.
FC Barcelona Lassa Probable Starters
G - Cory Higgins
G - Alex Abrines
F - Adam Hanga
F - Nikola Mirotic
C - Brandon Davies
Panathinaikos Probable Starters
G - Nick Calathes
G - Jimmer Fredette
F - Ioannis Papapetrou
F - Deshaun Thomas
C - Georgios Papagiannis
Top Picks
Nikola Mirotic, BAR - Mirotic is as steady as they come, scoring in double figures in all but one game this season. That's not the sole source of his success, though, as he in fourth in the league with 6.83 rebounds per game and also averages 1.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.8 three-pointers per game.
Nick Calathes, PAN - The king of the double-double, Calathes has notched double figures in two categories 10 times in 24 games this season.
Jimmer Fredette, PAN - Fredette scored a season-low two points his last time out, but he is still second on the squad in scoring at 13.7 ppg, so he is due to bounce back in Round 25.
Ioannis Papapetrou, PAN - Papapetrou sat out Panathinaikos' last EuroLeague game because of an injury, but he returned to action during the two-week break and scored 21 points over 33 minutes, so expect him to be full speed for Friday's game.
Captaincy Options
Dream11 Team
Grand League Combination
Mirotic, Calathes, Fredette, Mitoglou
Small League Combination
Mirotic, Calathes, Fredette, Papapetrou
