This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- Barcelona's Sertac Sanli will return to action in Round 5.
- CSKA's Kenneth Faried is set to make his EuroLeague debut Friday.
- Christ Koumadje will suit up for ALBA on Friday, but Tim Schneider will sit out with an illness and Johannes Thiemann remains out as well.
- Red Star's Nikola Ivanovic will not play Friday, but Branko Lazic and Maik Zirbes will be in uniform for Round 5.
STATS AND INFO.
THE SLATE
Olympiacos Piraeus at 
CSKA Moscow
Status Check: Nikola Milutinov (CSK), Tornike Shengelia (CSK), Marius Grigonis (CSK), Kenneth Faried (CSK)
Best Bets for Success: This game figures to be a competitive one between two 3-1 teams looking to remain one game back of the league leaders. The home team remains down three key pieces, but they could get a boost Friday, as Faried appears to be on track to make his EuroLeague debut. Even if Faried does play, that should not have a major effect on Will Clyburn and Johannes Voigtmann, who have both been producing regularly in recent Rounds. Olympiacos' defense has been stout, but they have been most vulnerable against centers, so Voigtmann might have the edge over his teammate. However, with Clyburn averaging 17.3 ppg over the last three Rounds, he's certainly no slouch. The away team will be led by Sasha Vezenkov, who has scored at least 20.0 points on DraftKings in all four Rounds. He is down to a reasonable $9,800 on that website after seeing his price balloon to $11,300 in Round 2.
DFS Darlings: Kostas Sloukas has not started a game this season, but he remains Olympiacos' most productive guard and has been a steady producer in his own right. CSKA is not allowing many assists to opposing guards, but Sloukas has been getting the job done in other ways and is one of the top options in the $8,000 range. Olympiacos has been particularly stingy against guards, which doesn't bode well for most of the remaining options on the Russian team's roster. Joel Bolomboy's minutes could be affected by Faried's presence, but he also did enough last week to consider on DraftKings at $5,900. With opportunities open for him, Faried himself could also be worth a gamble at $6,100.
ALBA Berlin at 
Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade
Status Check: Marcus Eriksson (BER), Ben Lammers (BER), Johannes Thiemann (BER), Christ Koumadje (BER), Nikola Ivanovic (CZV), Aaron White (CZV), Branko Lazic (CZV), Maik Zirbes (CZV)
Best Bets for Success: It's not clear of any of ALBA's injured big men could return Friday, but even if they do, it will be tough to ignore Luke Sikma and Oscar da Silva, who both offer some of the most value on the board despite their soaring DraftKings rates. Red Star ranks near the bottom against opposing frontcourt players in just about every category, so both players will be in position to come through again. Nikola Kalinic and Nate Wolters have been Red Star's steadiest producers, and they too offer some of the most value on the board, with neither running more than $9,300 on DraftKings. Kalinic is leading the league with an average of 33 minutes per game, and if Ivanovic sits out Wolters could approach the 30-minute mark as well.
DFS Darlings: An Ivanovic absence would also be good news for Ognjen Dobric's fantasy prospects, as he would be the reserve most likely to take on a bigger role in that scenario. Dobric now has three games under his belt, so he should be ready for whatever is needed in Round 5. Against an ALBA team allowing guards to shoot over 50 percent, he is a pretty appealing option on DraftKings at $6,900. Another Ognjen -- Ognjen Kuzmic, at $6,100 -- will also be worth considering against an ALBA team that figures to be short on size. Red Star has handled guards fairly well, and ALBA's big men besides the two players already mentioned isn't doing a whole lot, so there's not much more to like on their side.
AS Monaco at 
Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Status Check: Alec Peters (BKN)
Best Bets for Success: Monaco's Mike James is the priciest player on Friday's DraftKings slate, and he should be, as he is averaging the most fantasy points on the board. However, he is also returning some of the most value on the slate, so he's hardly too expensive to consider. Baskonia is doing a decent job against opposing guards, but James will be the best one they have faced, and he could have some extra juice Friday in the stadium he played his home games in during his first two EuroLeague campaigns. Baskonia will be led by its forward duo of Rokas Giedraitis and Simone Fontecchio, who are the only two players on the squad averaging double digits. Monaco is allowing some of the most points and threes to players listed at their position, so both should remain active in Round 5.
DFS Darlings: Donta Hall continues making a case to go in the section above, as he topped the 20-point mark on DraftKings for the fourth time in as many opportunities in Round 4. However, we will keep Monaco's soaring big man here for yet another Round, as Baskonia has been one of the best against players listed at the center position. Hall is still plenty worthy of consideration even in a tough matchup, as he too is providing some of the most value on the board at his $8,200 price tag. Hall's fellow frontcourt member Will Thomas also deserves consideration, as he appears to have finally found his footing with his new squad. While it hasn't been a great start for Baskonia's Wade Baldwin, his affordable $8,500 cost on DraftKings -- down nearly $2,000 from the start of the season -- earns him a mention here. Monaco has been stingy on opposing guards, but the Spanish squad needs Baldwin to get going, and in a game featuring the highest over/under of the night, this seems like a good opportunity for him to do so.
FC Barcelona at 
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Status Check: Alex Abrines (BAR), Sertac Sanli (BAR), Shabazz Napier (ZEN)
Best Bets for Success: The final game of the day features two teams who battled through a hard-fought five-game series in last season's playoffs. Most of the key players remain on the roster for the victorious Barcelona squad, and they will be led by Nikola Mirotic. The star big man sits third in the league in average index rating, but the matchup raises an eyebrow some, as Zenit held Mirotic below his scoring average all seven times the two sides faced off last season. They did not have the same level of success against Brandon Davies, who picked up the slack for Mirotic and led his team to the Final Four. Davies had the best game of his career in Round 4, and he will be in position to keep the momentum going. We'd be remiss to not mention Nick Calathes here after Barcelona's point guard averaged 39.8 points on DraftKings over the last two Rounds, but be aware that Zenit is allowing the fewest rebounds -- Calathes grabbed a whopping 24 of those over the last two Rounds -- to opposing guards. The home team was carried by point guard Kevin Pangos in the aforementioned series, but he has been replaced by Jordan Loyd. The newcomer is more shooting guard than facilitator, but he did drop a career-high 11 assists last Round and be asked to pull double duty again.
DFS Darlings: While this might be the most appealing matchup of the day, it's not anticipated to be a high-scoring one, with the over/under checking in at 146.0. That will limit the value plays a bit, particularly on the Barcelona side, as the three players listed above have been dominating the stat sheet. Versatile Zenit forward Mateusz Ponitka can be considered on DraftKings with his price plummeting to $7,700.
