EuroLeague Primer: Round 7 - Thursday

EuroLeague Primer: Round 7 - Thursday

This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.

PREGAME UPDATES

STATS AND INFO.

THE SLATE

FC Bayern Munich at ALBA Berlin

Status Check: Paul Zipser (BAY), Leon Radosevic (BAY), Zan Mark Sisko (BAY), Marcus Eriksson (BER), Ben Lammers (BER)

Best Bets for Success: The two German teams in the EuroLeague will square off for the first time this season, with each team looking to pull a game back of the .500 mark. The visitors have been inspired by the return of Vladimir Lucic, who has wasted no time reminding everyone he is one of the top players out there by averaging a team-leading 18.5 ppg in his two appearances. ALBA did limit Lucic to an average of 12.8 points per contest across eight total matchups last season, so if that scares you off, Darrun Hilliard is a fine pick for Bayern's top option. Hilliard's scoring has not dropped off since Lucic came back and he averaged 18.0 ppg -- a mark that would tie him for second in the league -- over the last five Rounds. The safest play for ALBA is no doubt Luke Sikma, who had another stellar showing his last time out. Sikma now finds himself top-5 in the league in all of rebounds, assists and index rating per Round, and he is 24th in scoring to boot.

DFS Darlings: Like Hilliard, Corey Walden has not fallen off since Lucic returned, and he averaged 15.8 ppg himself over the last four Rounds. He looks like one of the best mid-tier options on DraftKings at just $7,900. A few other Bayern players have had some decent games of late, but with the team's top three players doing most of the scoring, none of them seems particularly reliable. After Sikma, the next six players on ALBA's roster all produced around the same number of fantasy points over the past couple Rounds. It will be tough for the lot of them to return significant value on DraftKings if that happens again, but the ascending Tamir Blatt will be in the easiest position to do so, as he checks in at just $6,000.

Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul at Olympiacos Piraeus

Status Check: Danilo Barthel (FBB), Hassan Martin (OLY)

Best Bets for Success: It remains tough to predict Fenerbahce's top option on a week-to-week basis, but Jan Vesely was that man for his club in Round 6. He will be in position to hold that spot for another Round, as he will take on an Olympiacos team with only one healthy center on the roster. The Greek team does not look exactly like it did last season, but Vesely went a stellar 15-of-17 from the field over his two matchups with Olympiacos during the 2020-21 campaign. Olympiacos has gotten pretty steady production up and down its roster in recent Rounds, and Sasha Vezenkov is no longer the clear frontrunner for his club. He remains the most intriguing option, but Tyler Dorsey and Kostas Sloukas have entered the conversation. For Round 7, we will go with Dorsey, as he comes in the hottest of the trio, having averaged 15.2 points and 2.8 triples over his last five appearances.

DFS Darlings: Sloukas can slot in here, as he checks in at just $7,800 on DraftKings. The Turkish team has a number of intriguing options on that website, as Nando de Colo and Devin Booker are as affordable as they have been all season and Marko Guduric is actually cheaper than he was in Round 6 despite having his best night of the season. Given that it's just as likely Guduric produces as his teammates, he looks to be the best of the bunch.

FC Barcelona at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

Status Check: Alex Abrines (BAR), Pierre Oriola (BAR)

Best Bets for Success: It was a down night for Nikola Mirotic in Round 6, but lo and behold, it was still Mirotic who got the ball with the game on the line, and Barcelona's top player came through. Mirotic will be primed to bounce back in Round 7, as he has recorded four consecutive double-doubles against the team he will face Thursday. Maccabi has played well of late, so they figure to keep the game competitive, and that figures to allow Mirotic to spend plenty of time on the court. Even though Scottie Wilbekin scored just five points his last time out, he remains the top option for the home team. Wilbekin has put up at least 26.8 DraftKings points in five of his six appearances this season, and he leads the league in steals per contest while also checking in tied for sixth in triples per game.

DFS Darlings: Cory Higgins had one of his best games of the season in Round 6, but his price actually went down on DraftKings, and it's tough to find a better option in the $7,000 range. Maccabi continues to contain centers pretty well, which limits the rest of Barcelona's options a bit. One of Maccabi's big men deserves a look, though, as Ante Zizic is now back at full speed. Zizic missed a double-double in Round 6 by one rebound, and he remains an affordable $6,900 on DraftKings.

Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade at AX Armani Exchange Milan

Status Check: Nikola Ivanovic (CZV), Aaron White (CZV), Malcolm Delaney (AXM), Riccardo Moraschini (AXM)

Best Bets for Success: The final game of the day is the one with the biggest spread, and the visitors will likely lean on both Nikola Kalinic and Nate Wolters to keep the game close. Both players are producing regularly, with Kalinic averaging a well-rounded 12.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals per contest and Wolters scoring at least 11 points in five straight Rounds. Milan fell from the ranks of the unbeatens in Round 6, and it's probably no coincidence Shavon Shields had his least-productive game of the season. Shields is still returning some of the most value on the DraftKings board and his price has slipped back into four digits. 

DFS Darlings: Red Star is doing a good job keeping opposing guards in check, but Milan still has several backcourt options to check out on DraftKings in Sergio Rodriguez, Devon Hall and Troy Daniels. All three will continue playing expanded roles with Delaney out of action. Red Star has had several less-heralded players come through of late, but due to recent production, DraftKings price, the expected result or some combination of those, it's probably best to look for value plays elsewhere.

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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