This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- Real Madrid's Rudy Fernandez is in uniform for Round 8.
- Baskonia's Lamar Peters will not make his debut Friday.
- Monaco's Will Thomas is in the starting lineup for Friday's contest.
- Zoran Dragic and Tai Webster are set to see their first action with Zalgiris on Friday.
- ALBA's Ben Lammers is set to return to action Friday.
- Quincy Acy will not make his Olympiacos debut in Round 8.
- Efes' Bryant Dunston and James Anderson remain out for Round 8.
- Zenit's Dmitry Kulagin will not play Friday.
STATS AND INFO.
- Betting Odds - NEW!
- Starting Lineups
- Injury Report
- Team Stats
- Opponent Averages
- Team Trends
- Twitter - @RotoWireEuro
THE SLATE
Zenit Saint Petersburg at 
Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Status Check: Shabazz Napier (ZEN), Bryant Dunston (EFS), James Anderson (EFS)
Best Bets for Success: Guards will be in focus in the first game of the day, as the contest features three players who finished top-10 in the league in scoring last season. The visitors will be led by Jordan Loyd, who finished third in points per game during the 2020-21 campaign. Loyd isn't scoring quite as much as he did last season, but he hit the 20-point mark in Round 7 for the first time this season, and he will be in position to repeat that Friday, facing an Efes squad that ranks bottom-5 against opposing guards in points and field-goal percentage allowed and dead last in both three-pointers made and three-point percentage. The Turkish team's stellar backcourt of Vasilije Micic and Shane Larkin has been a bit quiet of late, and they have both fallen beneath the $10,000-mark on DraftKings for the first time this season. They are both worth considering at those price points, but Micic seems to be the better option, as he is $200 cheaper and has recovered from the injury that prevented him from playing in Rounds 5 and 6. If you need evidence that Micic is back at full speed, consider he dropped 31 points and 10 assists in Efes' last domestic game Sunday.
DFS Darlings: Elijah Bryant's DraftKings price has jumped a bit, but he's still returning some of the most value on the board. He has scored at least 10 points and put up at least 21.8 DraftKings points in all three of his appearances with Efes. His teammate, Filip Petrusev, has been a bit up-and-down, but he put up a season-high 25.5 DraftKings points his last time out, which makes him an appealing target at just $6,200. With Efes struggling with guards and also allowing the most made three-pointers in the league, Billy Baron and Dmitry Kulagin will get a boost this week. Baron is leading Zenit in threes made and like Loyd, Kulagin is coming off his best game of the season.
ALBA Berlin at 
Zalgiris Kaunas
Status Check: Ben Lammers (BER), Joffrey Lauvergne (ZAL), Zoran Dragic (ZAL), Tai Webster (ZAL), Paulius Jankunas (ZAL)
Best Bets for Success: ALBA's Luke Sikma is averaging the most DraftKings points on the board and is also returning the most value, and it's tough to get much safer than that. Zalgiris -- still looking for its first EuroLeague win of the season -- has a roster in flux, as they added Dragic and Webster to the mix in the past week and also parted ways with Emmanuel Mudiay. The surest best for the Lithuanian team remains Josh Nebo, who although was contained in Round 7 is still averaging 11.2 points and 8.0 rebounds since joining the lineup. He will be in position to bounce back against an ALBA squad that has been fairly friendly to opposing centers.
DFS Darlings: Value plays figure to be light in this one, as there are a lot of question marks on Zalgiris' roster and also a few on ALBA's, with Marcus Eriksson set to return to action Friday. One player to definitely consider for the visiting team, though, is Oscar da Silva. He has slowed a bit in recent Rounds, but he is down to $8,900 and is still returning some of the most value on the board. For the home side, Webster is not expected to play much, but Dragic could, and with Mudiay gone, Mantas Kalnietis should. Kalnietis' role seems more secure, but Dragic is $700 cheaper than his teammate. ALBA has really struggled with opposing backcourt players, so although it will be tricky picking the right Zalgiris guard, one or more figure to return value in Round 8.
AS Monaco at 
Olympiacos Piraeus
Status Check: Will Thomas (ASM), Leo Westermann (ASM), Quincy Acy (OLY)
Best Bets for Success: This contest figures to garner plenty of attention, as it is the only matchup of the day that features two teams with winning records. Monaco will be led by Mike James, who topped the 30-point mark on DraftKings in Round 7 for the third time in five Rounds. James -- the priciest player on the DraftKings board -- will have his work cut out or him Friday, as Olympiacos ranks top-5 against opposing guards in all of points, field-goal percentage, three-pointers made and three-point percentage. The Greek team's top producer has varied in recent Rounds, but this looks like a prime spot for Sasha Vezenkov. He has put up fewer DraftKings points than the Round in five straight appearances, but Monaco is allowing the most points to opposing forwards and the fewest to opposing guards, so Vezenkov -- who checks in at an affordable $8,600 gets the nod over either Kostas Sloukas or Tyler Dorsey.
DFS Darlings: Hassan Martin is set to return to action Friday, so there isn't a whole lot to like on the Olympiacos side in Round 8 beyond the players previously mentioned. Given Monaco's issues with forwards, though, Kostas Papanikolaou at least deserves a mention. For the visitors, Dwayne Bacon is worth a look on DraftKings at $7,300, as is Donta Hall, who returned 4x value in Round 7 at his current price.
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv at 
Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
Status Check: Alec Peters (BKN), Lamar Peters (BKN)
Best Bets for Success: Maccabi has been getting regular production from a number of players of late, as all of Scottie Wilbekin, James Nunnally and Jalen Reynolds recorded at least 20.3 DraftKings points four times over the past five Rounds. Wilbekin is his team's best player, but Nunnally looks like the best option in this one, as Baskonia ranks bottom-5 against opposing guards in most categories. The Spanish squad gets back Rokas Giedraitis this week, which throws things off a bit at the top their roster. We'll pass on Giedraitis in his return and go with Wade Baldwin here. Baldwin appears to have found his footing with Baskonia, averaging 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.0 steals while playing 30 minutes per game over the past two Rounds.
DFS Darlings: Both teams have been a bit top-heavy of late, which doesn't leave much room for potential bargains.
Real Madrid at 
FC Bayern Munich
Status Check: Anthony Randolph (RMB), Trey Thompkins (RMB), Nigel Williams-Goss (RMB), Rudy Fernandez (RMB), Carlos Alocen (RMB), Paul Zipser (BAY), Leon Radosevic (BAY), Zan Mark Sisko (BAY)
Best Bets for Success: The final game of the day could be the most intriguing, as Real Madrid will be looking to bounche back from a tough loss to UNICS and Bayern is starting to look like the team that reached the Playoffs last season. Both teams remain short-handed for this one, but Edy Tavares will be there, and he's always one of the safest options on the board. The German team has two players contributing regularly in Vladimir Lucic and Darrun Hilliard, and they figure to lean on both again Friday.
DFS Darlings: Madrid head coach Pablo Laso praised youngster Juan Nunez this week, and he could get more chances to show what he can do with Alocen and Williams-Goss still sidelined. Nunez would be a dart throw, but he also runs only $5,100 on DraftKings.
