This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- Nikola Milutinov, Johannes Voigtmann and Ivan Ukhov will return to action Wednesday for CSKA, but Joel Bolomboy will be held out.
- Barcelona's Cory Higgins will not play Wednesday.
- Efes' Vasilije Micic will be available for Wednesday's game, but James Anderson will not be.
- Quincy Acy will suit up for Olympiacos for the first time.
- Mathias Lessort and Iftah Ziv will not play Wednesday for Maccabi.
- Andrey Vorontsevich and Janis Timma will not play Wednesday for UNICS.
- Christ Koumadje will be available for ALBA on Wednesday, but Louis Olinde and Tim Schneider will not be.
- Zenit's Dmitry Kulagin remains out for another Round.
STATS AND INFO.
- Betting Odds
- Starting Lineups
- Injury Report
- Team Stats
- Opponent Averages
- Team Trends
- Twitter - @RotoWireEuro
THE SLATE
ALBA Berlin at Zenit Saint Petersburg
Status Check: Christ Koumadje (BER), Shabazz Napier (ZEN), Dmitry Kulagin (ZEN)
Best Bets for Success: Zenit's backcourt could put on a show to begin the evening, as they will take on an ALBA team allowing the most points, rebounds and assists to opposing guards and also ranks bottom-3 in the other counting stats and both field goal and three-point percentage allowed. Jordan Loyd is the top option in Zenit's backcourt, as he leads the team in both points and assists. He's been a bit inconsistent, but the matchup makes him an enticing target in Wednesday's contests. Despite a down game his last time out, the German team's safest play remains Luke Sikma. His playing time was limited a bit in a blowout loss in Round 9, but he played at least 24 minutes in every game before that and is still averaging the second-most DraftKings points on the slate. Zenit is allowing the fewest rebounds to frontcourt players and has been pretty good against them in general, but Sikma doesn't need to grab boards to contribute, and at $9,900 he is returning the most average value on the DraftKings board.
DFS Darlings: Zenit has been getting pretty steady production from just about everyone that plays regular minutes, which isn't ideal for finding value plays. However, given ALBA's issues with guards, there will be a few backcourt players on the Russian team to consider. Conner Frankamp averaged 17.0 points, 2.5 assists and 4.0 threes over the last two Rounds and checks in at just $7,000 on DraftKings, so he looks like the best option of the bunch, particularly if Kulagin remains sidelined. Billy Baron has been a bit steadier than Frankamp, reaching double figures seven times over his nine appearances, and he won't run you much more at $7,400. Things have also evened out on the German team's roster since Ben Lammers and Marcus Eriksson returned, but those two players in particular deserve a look on DraftKings. Lammers, in particular, seems underpriced at just $7,100.
AX Armani Exchange Milan at UNICS Kazan
Status Check: Malcolm Delaney (AXM), Riccardo Moraschini (AXM), Janis Timma (UNK)
Best Bets for Success: After sputtering to a 1-4 start, UNICS has found its rhythm, going 3-1 over the last four Rounds. They will face a stiff test Wednesday, though, taking on a team that resides atop the standings. If the home team hopes to pull off the upset they will likely need to rely on their frontcourt, as Milan has been stout against opposing guards all season. Both Mario Hezonja and Lorenzo Brown qualify here for the Russian team, but give the edge to Hezonja given the matchup. The Italian team has leaned on its forwards during its ascent to first place, namely Shavon Shields, who has finished with fewer than 23.0 DraftKings points just twice all season. He will have his work cut out for him Wednesday, though, as UNICS has been absolutely shutting down opposing forwards, limiting them to by far the fewest points and easily the lowest success rate from the field while also faring well in just about every other category.
DFS Darlings: Given the tough matchups and the fact the over/under on this game is notably lower than all the others, there won't be a lot to look at for value plays. However, UNICS is allowing guards to do plenty outside the assist column and get up more shots than any other team, so both Devon Hall and Sergio Rodriguez will carry a good deal of appeal. Kyle Hines will as well, as the Russian squad is also allowing centers to get pretty involved. John Brown can be considered for the home team, as his stellar work on the defensive end -- he is averaging a whopping 2.8 steals per contest -- has allowed him to spend at least 30 minutes on the court in four straight games.
Olympiacos Piraeus at Anadolu Efes Istanbul
Status Check: Livio Jean-Charles (OLY), Quincy Acy (OLY), Vasilije Micic (EFS), James Anderson (EFS)
Best Bets for Success: The first two games will serve as an appetizer of sorts for the rest of the slate, as the final three games feature six of the seven highest-scoring teams in the league. First up is a matchup between a resurgent Olympiacos squad and the defending champions, who may have righted the ship in Round 9. Efes can prove they are truly back in form Wednesday, and if they do so it will likely be because of Vasilije Micic. However, the MVP's status for Wednesday's contest is uncertain, so it could be Shane Larkin who winds up leading the charge. Larkin's recent results leave something to be desired, but he averaged an even 25.0 ppg over his last four matchups with the Greek squad. The Turkish team is allowing guards to do a lot of scoring and forwards to do a lot of everything, so both Tyler Dorsey and Sasha Vezenkov will slot in here for Olympiacos. Dorsey reached double figures last week for the seventh time in eight Rounds and Vezenkov capitalized on his last prime matchup with a double-double.
DFS Darlings: Kostas Sloukas and Thomas Walkup don't generally do much scoring, but they could get more opportunities to do so Wednesday, which gives them both a bit of a boost. With Efes struggling against forwards and Jean-Charles out, Kostas Papanikolaou is interesting at just $7,000, and Acy -- despite an uncertain role -- also has some dark-horse potential at just $4,800. Olympiacos is faring pretty well against all positions, but they have been most vulnerable to centers, so it could be another nice night for Tibor Pleiss. Should Micic sit, Krunoslav Simon would figure to benefit most.
AS Monaco at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
Status Check: None
Best Bets for Success: Maccabi's frontcourt has been on a roll lately, and that could continue Wednesday, as Monaco is allowing opposing forwards to contribute all over the court and is allowing frontcourt players in general to score more than anyone else and grab a lot of rebounds. James Nunnally, Derrick Williams, Jalen Reynolds and Ante Zizic have all been producing of late, and given Monaco's issues with forwards, Nunnally and Williams get a slight edge over the centers. Mike James will lead the Monaco contingent as he usually does and is returning some of the most value on the DraftKings board despite his lofty price.
DFS Darlings: Reynolds and Zizic will both be worth considering if you pass on Maccabi's forwards, as Zizic owns one of the best average index ratings in the entire league and Reynolds checks in at a season-low $8,100. Another player in that department is Scottie Wilbekin, whose recent slide has brought him down to $8,900. Wilbekin will have a tough matchup, as Monaco ranks top-4 in all of points, threes, field goal percentage and three-point percentage against opposing guards, but a breakout is always possible and he could return some serious value at that price. Maccabi has done a decent job against frontcourt players, but Will Thomas at $6,900 remains an intriguing option. Dwayne Bacon also carries some appeal at $7,500, as does Leo Westermann at $6,800.
Status Check: Nikola Milutinov (CSK), Johannes Voigtmann (CSK), Joel Bolomboy (CSK), Ivan Ukhov (CSK), Cory Higgins (BAR), Alex Abrines (BAR)
Best Bets for Success: The final game of the day will garner plenty of eyeballs, as it features two storied clubs and two of the three teams averaging over 80 points per game. Barcelona is putting up the most points per contest, and most of those are coming from Nikola Mirotic, who put up a season-high 41.5 DraftKings points his last time out. The only concern for Mirotic is CSKA's defense, as they are doing a good job limiting forwards in the scoring areas. Will Clyburn, on the other hand, is coming off his least-productive game of the season, but he remains the safest option for his squad, particularly with CSKA's frontcourt in flux due to injury and illness. Alexey Shved also looks like a nice option in Round 10, as he has topped the 20-point mark on DraftKings in four straight Rounds and takes on a Barcelona team allowing guards to get up a lot of shots from both the field and the free throw line.
DFS Darlings: The Russian team is not having much success against guards or centers, and another Higgins absence would open up some minutes again, but it's tough to find a lot of value on the Barcelona side with the team dividing the playing time fairly evenly. Nicolas Laprovittola and Sertac Sanli look like the best options of the bunch for Round 10, and either will cosot you more than $6,700 on DraftKings. Marius Grigonis will be plenty appealing for CSKA, as he is down to a meager $7,900 and should be ready to handle more minutes.