This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- Madrid's Trey Thompkins will be available for Thursday's contest.
- Zenit's Arturas Gudaitis and KC Rivers will remain out for another Round.
THE SLATE
Real Madrid at 
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Status Check: Trey Thompkins (MAD), Sergio Llull (MAD), Rudy Fernandez (MAD), Anthony Randolph (MAD), Arturas Gudaitis (DYR), KC Rivers (DYR)
Best Bets for Success: In the opening game of Thursday's slate Real Madrid will be very keen to recover after unexpected loss to Khimki in last Round. Walter Tavares has recorded his first double-double this year and was his team's best player in defeat. He also scored over 30 DFS points for a first time in eight games. Real will need its big man to perform like that in every game now as they dropped to seventh place in the league, and their playoff spot is not as obvious as it was. After a few quiet games, pair of Zenit's forwards, Will Thomas and Mateusz Ponitka, are both stuffing stats sheets again. In last game against ALBA, Thomas, apart of his usual contribution in points and rebounds, also stole the ball four times. Ponitka, Zenit's captain, scored 29.5 DFS points, his best result since January. Obviously, Kevin Pangos has to be mentioned here after scoring over 35 DFS points in three out of his last four EuroLeague outings. Zenit's starting point guard racked up 19 points and assisted seven times in last game.
DFS Darlings: After spending over 35 minutes on court against Khimki, Gabriel Deck could get some rest Thursday. If so, Alberto Abalde will be major beneficiary here. He is priced up at $6,300 by DraftKings. Jaycee Carroll averages 22.3 DFS points in last three games. He was very efficient in last game hitting five three pointers and is available at $7,200, his highest price so far this season. Usman Garuba didn't make much impact in last game, scoring only two points in addition to six rebounds, but if Thompkins will not be available against Zenit, he will likely spend more minutes on the court. Tarik Black's debut on Tuesday was promising and, with Gudaitis injured, his minutes could definitely go up.
CSKA Moscow at 
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Status Check: Nikola Milutinov (CSK)
Best Bets for Success: In this matchup, most likely highest scoring on Thursday's slate, we'll see some of the best at the moment guards in EuroLeague. Vasilije Micic is league's top scorer in last three Rounds, averaging 20.67 points per game and scored over 30 DFS points in five outings this year. Shane Larkin's performances were also impressive: in every of nine 2021 appearances he scored at least 20.8 DFS points, despite often starting on the bench. Both will be great fantasy picks considering that CSKA is a third worst team in defense against guards. Mike James leads the league in scoring at 20.04 ppg. Since missing two games at the end of January he averages 36.4 DFS points over last three outings. Will Clyburn is on course to reach excellent form from last year. In the game against Maccabi, his second since recovering from foot injury, Clyburn recorded 28.8 DFS points. One of his best performances this season was in first matchup against Efes when Clyburn scored 22 points in just 22 minutes coming off the bench. One of most surprising players in this section is Sertac Sanli, priced up at just $6,500 on DraftKings. Turkish center, despite tough competition for minutes around him, recorded his season best 34.5 DFS points in last game against Valencia.
DFS Darlings: Darrun Hilliard scored five three pointers against Maccabi on Tuesday and, alongside Iffe Lundberg will be good play if you are looking for cheaper guards than ones listed above. Both have scored in double figures last time out and should get enough playing time against Efes. Rodrigue Beaubois is a bit more expensive but still a budget option at $6,800 with DraftKings. French guard averages 23.1 DFS points in last three games and scored in double figures in four out of his last five outings.
Valencia Basket at 
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
Status Check: Guillem Vives (PAM), Fernando San Emeterio (PAM), Yovel Zoosman (TEL)
Best Bets for Success: Both teams are in top four of the league in points conceded against frontcourt positions, so we can expect majority of fantasy scoring coming from there. Bojan Dubljevic is most regular DFS points provider for Valencia in last weeks, averaging 28.3 since start of February. Montenegrin center spend just 22 minutes on the court in Tuesday's game against Efes, but he will likely be involved more on Thursday. Nikola Kalinic had a quiet game last time out but he was also eased off and spend most of fourth quarter on the bench. He started every Valencia's game this year and averaged 31.6 DFS points in February. Maccabi's Othello Hunter is coming off two over 30 DFS points performances in his last three appearances, including double-double against CSKA. His matchup against Dubljevic will be one to watch on this game. Angelo Caloiaro played one of his best games this season in reverse matchup back in November. In last game he only spend 25 minutes on the court, one of his shortest showings this year, possibly rested for Thursday night.
DFS Darlings: Mike Tobey provides a great backup for Dubljevic and he is able to explode with over 25 DFS points performance, as he did four times in 2021. With Scottie Wilbekin struggling recently, Tyler Dorsey could again strike from the bench, just like on Tuesday night when he scored 20 points in just 21 minutes on the court. Dorsey will cost you $7,100 on DraftKings.
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens at 
FC Bayern Munich
Status Check: Nemanja Nedovic (PAN), Ioannis Papapetrou (PAN), Nihad Dedovic (MUN)
Best Bets for Success: Panathinaikos' backcourt looks average at best with Nedovic out, but there's a few potentially great fantasy scorers in other positions. Mario Hezonja, mentioned in DFS Darlings on last occasion, hit the ground running after signing for Greek champions last week. He was his team's top scorer in defeat to Barcelona with 21 points and looks very promising for rest of the season. With Papapetrou injured, Hezonja's minutes shouldn't drop in next games. Konstantinos Mitoglou continues to perform very well this year, he scored less than 20 DFS points only once since calendar flipped to 2021. He also claimed starting spot in last eight Panathinaikos' showings. Wade Baldwin had a very effective game against Red Star in last Round, scoring 27 points in only 23 minutes on the court. He now averages magnificent 33.5 DFS points in last five outings. Jalen Reynolds was also rested on Tuesday night. Bayern's frontcourt star played only 18 minutes, scoring 13 points. Both, Baldwin and Reynolds, will probably spend more time on the court against Panathinaikos.
DFS Darlings: Ben Bentil form is going up from game-to-game in last weeks. In last three appearances he averaged 22 DFS points, compared to 8.9 per game up until the end of January, and is available at just $5,700. Zan Sisko has fully recovered from injury that kept him on sidelines in first seven games of this year. Bayern's backup guard scored nine points in addition to two assists and a steal in the game against Red Star.
