EuroLeague Primer: Round 11 - Thursday

EuroLeague Primer: Round 11 - Thursday

This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.

PREGAME UPDATES

STATS AND INFO.

THE SLATE

Panathinaikos OPAP Athens at FC Bayern Munich

Status Check: Nemanja Nedovic (PAO), Paul Zipser (BAY), Leon Radosevic (BAY), Zan Mark Sisko (BAY)

Best Bets for Success: After falling to winless Zalgiris its last time out, Panathinaikos will look to right the ship two days later. The Greek team has had three players doing the bulk of the work in the box score, but coming into this one, Daryl Macon is the only one of the trio making an impact in fantasy contests on a regular basis. Macon ranks second in the league in scoring and has not recorded fewer than 13 points in a game this season. He will take on a Bayern team that has done a good job containing guards, but primarily in the rebound and steals columns, where Macon doesn't do much damage anyway. The German squad will also be looking to get back in the win column, and their safest option will be Vladimir Lucic, as Darrun Hilliard has hit a rough patch. Lucic capitalized on a plus matchup earlier this week, and he will have another one Thursday, as Panathinaikos is allowing quite a few points and the most rebounds to opposing frontcourt players. 

DFS Darlings: Lucic is not the only frontcourt player that could come through on the Bayern side. The German team has mainly been playing with seven players in recent Rounds, so Deshaun Thomas, Augustine Rubit and Othello Hunter should all be plenty involved. They are all relatively the same price on DraftKings, but Panathinaikos has been allowing centers to get plenty involved, which favors Hunter and Rubit, who is listed as a forward but has been starting regularly at the five spot. The short rotation also favors Corey Walden, who seems a bit under-priced on DraftKings at $8,100. With Panathinaikos a bit top-heavy right now and possibly getting Nedovic back for this one, there aren't many options to consider on their side. One player to look at will be Okaro White, who is back down to an affordable $6,800.

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade at Real Madrid

Status Check: Nikola Kalinic (CZV), Nate Wolters (CZV), Luka Mitrovic (CZV), Aaron White (CZV), Anthony Randolph (RMB), Trey Thompkins (RMB), Nigel Williams-Goss (RMB), Carlos Alocen (RMB), Jeffery Taylor (RMB)

Best Bets for Success: As can be seen, injuries are piling up for both teams, but they are far more notable for Red Star. Most of the Madrid players have been out for a while, and they are doing just fine without them. On the other side, Kalinic, Wolters and Mitrovic have been three of Red Star's best players, and it's likely they will all be out for Round 11. Given the absences for the visitors, Madrid is a heavy favorite, so as was the case in Round 9 playing time will be a concern for the home team's top options, Edy Tavares and Guerschon Yabusele. It will still be tough to pass them up, as Tavares is averaging nearly two more DraftKings points than anyone on the board and Yabusele has ripped off at least 27.3 points on that website in three straight Rounds. With Red Star presumably down three players who have all been mentioned in this section, someone else will need to occupy this spot for Round 11. The player in the best position to do so is Nikola Ivanovic, who has come back from a four-game absence on fire. Ivanovic does not have a lengthy track record, but he has put up at least 27.3 DraftKings points three times in six appearances. Plus, he will run you just $8,600 and will face a Real Madrid defense that ranks bottom-5 against guards in most counting stats and is allowing them to put up plenty of shots.

DFS Darlings: While Madrid is allowing opposing guards to produce quite a bit, that's partly because they are shutting down opposing frontcourts, ranking top-3 against forwards and centers in most counting stats and allowing them to get up fewer shots than anyone else. Still, with minutes open in Red Star's frontcourt, you can at least consider Maik Zirbes and Marko Simonovic, as both check in beneath the $5,000 mark. Ognjen Dobric and Austin Hollins will also carry some appeal given the matchup. Red Star is allowing the fewest points to opposing guards and is also limiting their attempts, which does not bode well for Madrid's backcourt players nor the forwards the Spanish team is currently using at the guard spots. As such, Adam Hanga and Rudy Fernandez could be the best plays among Madrid's complementary players. Red Star is allowing frontcourt players to rack up quite a few blocks and steals, which helps Hanga -- who was named EuroLeague Best Defender in 2017 -- in particular.

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