This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- Real Madrid's Thomas Heurtel will not play in Saturday's Final.
- Quincy Acy is inactive for Olympiacos.
- Pierre Oriola and Sergi Martinez remain out for Barcelona.
STATS AND INFO.
THE SLATE
FC Barcelona vs. Olympiacos Piraeus
Status Check: Pierre Oriola (BAR), Sergi Martinez (BAR)
Best Bets for Success: The final day of the season will kick off with a third-place game between two teams that took extremely tough losses in Thursday's semifinal round. Both squads have stressed that they will be professional, but this will essentially be a glorified exhibition, so it seems unlikely anyone on either team will spend extended time on the court. Barcelona is favored by a few points, but given everything mentioned previously, this will be a tough one to approach at the betting window. It's not much easier from a DFS perspective, but one thing that seems fairly certain is that the priciest players will have a tough time returning useful value. Nikola Mirotic is more expensive than anyone else after putting up a stellar 55.5 DraftKings points Thursday, but it seems unlikely he will play enough to be worth his $11,000 price tag. Nick Calathes put up at least 25.3 DraftKings points for the third time in five appearances his last time out, but his minutes figure to be capped as well. The veterans on the Olympiacos side could take it easy as well, so Kostas Sloukas is not too appealing despite putting up at least 21.5 DraftKings points in seven straight appearances. Among the pricier players, Sasha Vezenkov looks like the best option, as he could be looking to end his season on a high note after a tough night Thursday. He still hit the 20-point on DraftKings in that game and averaged 26.6 points on that website over his last 10 games.
DFS Darlings: Both teams should have all players available, so at first glance it's tough to gauge the prospects of anyone else on either side. However, a rotation player or two could wind up getting the night off, so a clearer picture could emerge prior to tip-off. Barcelona does have a couple intriguing options in Rokas Jokubaitis and Rolands Smits. The youngsters could see more action than they have of late, and when playing more than 20 minutes, the former has averaged 19.4 DraftKings points and the latter 16.6. Dante Exum is intriguing at a meager $6,200, and Cory Higgins and Alex Abrines also are at roughly the same rate. It's more than possible that Higgins and Abrines take it slow Saturday, but there's at least a chance they get to stretch their legs after lengthy absences earlier in the season. Olympiacos has utilized an eight-man rotation of late, but more players figure to take the court Saturday. Shaq McKissic remains an option at $6,700, as a 20-point DraftKings night would bring him just shy of 3x value. Giannoulis Larentzakis could be worth a dart at a meager $3,800, and you can also consider Georgios Printezis, who is listed at just $4,400 and might get a chance to contribute in what could be the final EuroLeague game of his career.
Real Madrid vs. Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Status Check: Nigel Williams-Goss (RMB), Thomas Heurtel (RMB), Trey Thompkins (RMB), Carlos Alocen (RMB), Krunoslav Simon (EFS), Dogus Balbay (EFS)
Best Bets for Success: The main course on Saturday's menu features the victors of Thursday's El Clasico matchup and a team looking to take home the title for a second straight season. Both clubs are coming off dramatic victories, and the oddsmakers are expecting another thriller, as the Spanish squad is favored by fewer than two points. The star of Thursday's show was undoubtedly Vasilije Micic, whose three-pointer with less than a second to go sent his team to Saturday's Final. Micic is about as good a fantasy option as you can find, as he has topped the 30-point mark on DraftKings in 13 straight appearances, put up 44.3 DraftKings points when these teams met back in March and will be facing an opponent that is extremely thin in the backcourt. Micic certainly is not the only Efes guard who lands here, as Shane Larkin has also been stuffing the stat sheet with regularity and is a few bucks cheaper than his backcourt mate. Walter Tavares was Real Madrid's top producer over the course of the season, and he has to be in the mix at just $9,000 -- the cheapest he has been on DraftKings in a long time. However, the Spanish squad's safest option at the moment is Guerschon Yabusele, who is averaging 26.3 DraftKings points in the postseason. Yabusele was even better against Efes during the regular season, averaging 32.8 DraftKings points over his team's takedown of the defending champs in Round 1 and its narrow loss to the Turkish team in Round 31. Yabusele will be primed for another big night, as Efes ranks last against forwards in all of the points, rebounds, assists and field goal attempts categories.
DFS Darlings: While the four players listed above are most likely to star Saturday, both squads will likely need players in this section to deliver in order to claim the championship. Sergio Llull seems most likely to step up, as he has turned back the clock of late, putting up at least 24.3 DraftKings points in six of his last 10 appearances. He will likely be asked to do plenty again Saturday with Williams-Goss unavailable. That absence will open up a spot in Real Madrid's starting lineup, and it also opens the door for Heurtel to suit up. You'd really be gambling if you go with Heurtel, but he is returning some of the most average value on the board, and head coach Pablo Laso has been known to spring a surprise or two. Given the Turkish team's issues with forwards Gabriel Deck looks pretty good at $7,800, and Fabien Causeur is also plenty tantalizing against a team that gives up a lot of triples. With Simon out and Beaubois limited, Elijah Bryant stepped up in a big way Thursday, putting up a season-high 28.5 DraftKings points. His price jumped to $7,000, but that's still pretty affordable, and neither Simon's nor Beaubois' status will change in the Final. Real Madrid is as tough as they come against frontcourt players, which limits the appeal of the rest of the players on the Efes side. You could at least consider Bryant Dunston at just $7,300, and Chris Singleton -- just $5,400 -- has been known to deliver in key spots.