This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- ALBA's Peyton Siva will suit up Friday, but fellow guard Maodo Lo will miss a third straight Round.
- Alexey Shved will suit up for Khimki on Friday, but Devin Booker, Stefan Jovic and Janis Timma will not.
THE SLATE
Zenit Saint Petersburg at 
Khimki Moscow Region
Status Check: Alexey Shved (KHI), Devin Booker (KHI), Stefan Jovic (KHI), Janis Timma (KHI)
Best Bets for Success: Game against bottom of the league Khimki comes in perfect time for Zenit as they need every win to stay in playoff spots. With clean bill of health, team from Saint Petersburg will rely on their best assets of late – Kevin Pangos and Mateusz Ponitka. Pangos has recorded at least seven assists and averaged 29.8 DFS points in last four outings. With Khimki allowing on average 21.8 assists per game this season, he will have a great chance to achieve his fourth double-double this season. Ponitka contributes in every area of the game and has averaged 28.2 fantasy points in last four. Polish forward has scored in double digits and spend at least 27 minutes on the court in four consecutive games now. Shved could be back Friday, but after he missed the last two Rounds, Jordan Mickey will remain the top pick on Khimki's roster. He averaged an amazing 41.9 DFS points over the last five games, and Zenit has been pretty neutral against frontcourt players, so he will be in position to produce again. Errick McCollum is the second best choice here if Shved is unavailable, but he will lose some opportunities if Khimki's primary playmaker returns to the court.
DFS Darlings: Billy Baron scored his season best 27 DFS points in reverse matchup earlier this season and will have excellent chance to impress again against one of the weakest defenses in present EuroLeague season. DraftKings priced him at $5,900 for Round 31. Sergey Karasev and Sergei Monia are good budget plays in Khimki's ranks, averaging 19.0 and 14.1 DFS points in last four outings respectively. Vyacheslav Zaytsev is also an interesting option but he will face very solid in defense this season Zenit's backcourt.
AX Armani Exchange Milan at 
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Status Check: Malcolm Delaney (MIL), Jeremy Evans (MIL), Tonye Jekiri (BAS)
Best Bets for Success: Milan will most likely continue to rely on scoring abilities of Shavon Shields and Kevin Punter in their attempt to secure qualification to playoff stage. Shields has scored in double figures in eight consecutive outings now, with an average of 15.2 points per game. Punter has started in every single game since November and he will most likely continue to do so until quarter final spot is guaranteed. He was his team top scorer in reverse fixture between these teams with 15 points. Achille Polonara is one of the most consistent fantasy points producers this year, finishing 12 out of 14 games this year with over 20 DFS points in his account and averaging 25.2 in last five. Italian power forward spend over 30 minutes on court in each of last three games, most from all Baskonia's players. Pierria Henry, EuroLeague's second best in assists this season, is also a very regular contributor to fantasy teams scoresheets. In last five games he averaged 22.7 DFS points, narrowly missing double-double in Round 29 against Bayern.
DFS Darlings: Jekiri's injury, possibly season ending, will create some interesting budget plays in Baskonia's roster. Youssoupha Fall will benefit the most after falling down the pecking order in last few weeks. Ilimane Diop was playing marginal role so far this season but at $3,200 and with good chance to play 15 minutes on Friday night, he is worth a shot.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul at 
Olympiacos Piraeus
Status Check: Edgaras Ulanovas (ULK), Hassan Martin (OLY), Kostas Papanikolaou (OLY)
Best Bets for Success: In this game we'll see another two teams that are still in a fight for playoff spots. Marko Guduric, after absence in surprising loss to Valencia, featured in Round 30, and despite spending only 16 minutes on the court managed to produce 15.3 DFS points. When not struggling with injury, Guduric is sure to start for Fenerbahce in shooting guard slot. Nando de Colo and Jan Vesely are featuring in this section very often but it would be difficult not to mention them. Frenchman averages 33.8 DFS points in last five and scored at least 14 points in his last ten appearances. Vesely has recorded his third double-double last week in the game against Zalgiris and his lowest DFS delivery was 19 points this year. Sasha Vezenkov's great form is one of main reasons why Olympiacos is still in consideration for playoff places. Last week Vezenkov played his best game of the season, recording double-double against ALBA Berlin and scoring incredible 55 DFS points. Bulgarian forward's fantasy points average since start of February now rose to 32.4. Kostas Sloukas will also be expected to deliver in deciding moments of regular season. Olympiacos' guard averages 24.9 DFS points in last four outings and is expected to play big minutes on Friday.
DFS Darlings: Last weekend Kyle O'Quinn played his best game in domestic league since his arrival. He scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, converting 12 out of 14 field goal attempts. Obviously, he is unlikely to take Vesely's spot in starting lineup, but he could pinch some more minutes from Ahmet Duverioglu. Giannoulis Larentzakis is getting a bit more workload in recent weeks, with 15.5 DFS points and 15.3 minutes on the court in last three outings.
Status Check: Peyton Siva (BER), Maodo Lo (BER), Cory Higgins (BAR), Pau Gasol (BAR)
Best Bets for Success: Jayson Granger come back after hand injury was very well timed because ALBA will possibly miss Siva and Lo. Their status is uncertain, but if both will sit that one out, Granger will get more playing time against Barcelona. In January he averaged 28.7 DFS points and 6.7 assists over seven outings. German champions will not progress to playoff stage but Luke Sikma is still going strong. He recorded double-double in Round 30 against Olympiacos and averages 30.1 DFS points in March. Sikma is one of most well-rounded players in EuroLeague this season with 9.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists average per game. Pierre Oriola started last two games for Barca, including El Classico, and he didn't disappoint. Spaniard is in great form this year with average of 22.6 DFS points in last seven starts in center position and he will likely be preferred to Brandon Davies again. When these teams met last time, Barcelona scored their season high 103 points and Nick Calathes assisted 12 times. ALBA allowed 13.3 assists per game this season, second worst in the league, so Calathes will get an excellent chance to improve his 7.1 average in this category.
DFS Darlings: If ALBA's backcourt will be shorthanded on Friday night, Jonas Mattisseck and Malte Delow will spend more minutes on the court and both are available on DraftKings slate at under $4,000. Higgins' injury will open the door for a couple of value plays in Kyle Kuric and Leandro Bolmaro. The former is especially appealing due to his shooting from three-point range ability and the fact that ALBA allows 39.5% conversion rate in this category this season, second worst in the league.
