EuroLeague Primer: Round 14 - Tuesday

EuroLeague Primer: Round 14 - Tuesday

This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.

THE SLATE

Anadolu Efes Istanbul at CSKA Moscow

Key Injuries: Krunoslav Simon (IST), Daniel Hackett (CSK), Janis Strelnieks (CSK)

Best Bets for Success: CSKA's Mike James finds himself part of a tantalizing one-on-one matchup for the second Round in a row, with Efes' Shane Larkin stepping in for Alexey Shved on Tuesday. James had one of the best performances in league history his last time out, and his price jumped to a $13,600 on DraftKings -- $2,300 more than any other player. With a stellar average of 43 points on DraftKings over the last five Rounds, James has earned the lofty salary, but he could have a tough time returning significant value Tuesday against an Efes club that contained a number of the league's guards over the last couple weeks. Larkin hasn't been as productive as James this season, but he's only months removed from being the presumptive MVP, and he's still averaging 30 minutes and 30 DraftKings points since mid-November. If he can find his jumper Tuesday, he could put up just as many points as James, and at a far cheaper rate. Besides those two players, CSKA's Nikola Milutinov deserves a mention as well. The big man averaged 10.3 points and 10.0 rebounds over the last four Rounds, and he will face an Efes team that has been among the friendliest to opposing centers.

DFS Darlings: It sounds like CSKA could be down a couple guards again Tuesday, which would be good news for Darrun Hilliard's minutes and field-goal attempts. At, $7,200 on DraftKings, he will be worth a look if both Hackett and Strelnieks remain sidelined. There isn't much for lower-end value in this game, but Vasilije Micic is one of the top options under the $10,000 mark, particularly having carried a $12,000+ price tag early in the season.

AX Armani Exchange Milan at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

Key Injuries: Sergio Rodriguez (MIL), Jan Vesely (ULK), Lorenzo Brown (ULK), Alex Perez (ULK)

Best Bets for Success: Uncertainty reigns supreme in this one, as Vesely will be sidelined and both Rodriguez and Brown will be game-time decisions. Milan has a number of quality options, but the safest one is Shavon Shields, who has produced consistently all season and faces a Fenerbahce team that has been among the worst against opposing frontcourt players in just about every category. Nando de Colo will be the top option for the Turkish team, and although it will be tough to go with him on DraftKings after last week's dud, he could return some quality value if he handles a full workload in his third game back from a month-long absence.

DFS Darlings: Given the enticing matchup, Zach LeDay is a nice bounceback candidate Tuesday. He's far cheaper on DraftKings than he was before last week's dud, and he scored in double figures in eight of the 10 games he appeared in before that. You could make a case for Kyle Hines, too, though he doesn't have LeDay's scoring upside. With Vesely out, both Danilo Barthel and Dyshawn Pierre will get a boost, and if Brown sits, Ali Muhammed would as well. Barthel scored a career-high 22 points when Vesely sat out in Round 10, and Fenerbahce will need a player or two to pick up the slack in the scoring department to keep pace with a Milan team that is second in the league in scoring.

ALBA Berlin at Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade

Key Injuries: Ben Lammers (BER), Marcus Eriksson (BER), Simone Fontecchio (BER), Langston Hall (RED)

Best Bets for Success: Red Star's Jordan Loyd isn't scoring like he was early on, but he gets top billing in this one with ALBA's Luke Sikma -- a strong contender for the spot with averages of 12.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists over the last four Rounds -- facing a defense that has contained opposing frontcourt players as well as anyone. ALBA isn't allowing guards to score many points, but they're one of the worst in every other category, so Loyd should have plenty of opportunities to produce. Sikma's numbers speak for themselves, but he will more than have his work cut out for him. Peyton Siva could be ALBA's top DraftKings option on Tuesday, having averaged 26.6 points on that website over the last four Rounds.

DFS Darlings: ALBA is on the opposite end of Red Star when it comes to frontcourt production on the opposing team, which is good news for Johnny O'Bryant and Dejan Davidovac. O'Bryant averaged more than 25 DraftKings points over the last two Rounds, and Davidovac -- who costs just $5,900 on DraftKings -- has played at least 20 minutes in five straight games. ALBA will likely remain down several key players in this one, but given the prices and matchups, there isn't much appeal outside the players already mentioned.

TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz at Zalgiris Kaunas

Key Injuries: Luca Vildoza (BAS), Patricio Garino (ZAL), Steve Vasturia (ZAL)

Best Bets for Success: Baskonia's Pierria Henry has piled up all kinds of numbers of late, topping the 30-point mark on DraftKings three times in the last five Rounds. Despite increasing his average fantasy points per game in Round 13, Henry isn't as expensive as he was in last week's contests, and he's returning the most average value on the slate of anyone at 100 percent. Henry's teammate, Achille Polonara, has been on a nice run himself, averaging 31.0 DraftKings points over the last four Rounds. Marius Grigonis bounced back nicely for the Lithuanian team in Round 13, following up his worst scoring day of the year with one of his best. Baskonia has held its own against opposing guards, but Grigonis reaffirmed last week he will be Zalgiris' top option in most scenarios.

DFS Darlings: Alec Peters averaged 16.5 points over a six-game stretch leading up to Round 13, so he will be worth considering on DraftKings after seeing his price fall to $8,000. Fellow Baskonia big man Youssoupha Fall hasn't been very consistent this season, but he put up 20 points in each of the last two Rounds, and he will run you just $5,800. The promising Rokas Jokubaitis averaged 11.0 points and 24 minutes over Zalgiris' last four games, and he will remain a key part of the rotation moving forward with Vasturia out. He deserves consideration on DraftKings at just $6,500.

Real Madrid at Panathinaikos OPAP Athens

Key Injuries: Carlos Alocen (MAD), Zach Auguste (PAN)

Best Bets for Success: While the first game on the slate will feature a pair of guards, the final contest will be highlighted by a battle in the post. Madrid's Walter Tavares had another huge game last week, and he will be in position to tack on another against a Panathinaikos team that hasn't been too tough on opposing centers. Over the last seven Rounds, Tavares averaged an impressive 12.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. His counterpart Tuesday, Panathinaikos' Georgios Papagiannis, has been nearly as good of late, averaging 11.3 points. 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks over his last seven games. The up-and-comer will face a tough test from the reigning Best Defender winner, but that figures to give him some extra motivation as well.

DFS Darlings: Ioannis Papapetrou is down to an affordable $8,300, which is a nice price for someone who averaged 24.8 points on DraftKings over his first six games. His Panathinaikos teammate, Nemanja Nedovic, is a little expensive for this section, but his $8,600 price tag is appealing as well. Alberto Abalde got a chance to run the show for Madrid last week, and that paid off nicely for his production. He's a good option to fill out your lineups at just $6,500.

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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