This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- Real Madrid's Anthony Randolph will suit up for Thursday's contest.
- Zalgiris' Rokas Jokubaitis is not feeling well and was declared inactive for Thursday's game.
- ASVEL announced that Norris Cole, Antoine Diot, Allerik Freeman, William Howard, Rihards Lomazs and Matthew Marsh will not be available for Thursday's game against Zalgiris.
- Paul Lacombe will suit up after missing ASVEL's last EuroLeague game.
- Bayern's Leon Radosevic is not expected to play Thursday.
- CSKA's Janis Strelnieks is set to make his season debut in Round 6.
THE SLATE
Key Injuries: Patricio Garino (ZAL), Norris Cole (ASV), Paul Lacombe (ASV)
Best Bets for Success: It will be business as usual this week for Zalgiris, who will continue to lean on its productive trio of Marius Grigonis, Joffrey Lauvergne and Nigel Hayes and its stable of guards. It will be quite the opposite for ASVEL, which will play its first game since Round 2 but with only the minimum number of players. The team has not announced which players those are, but if they play, Moustapha Fall and Norris Cole are the most likely to produce -- and neither of them will cost you more than $7,700 on DraftKings.
DFS Darlings: If you've been playing fantasy contests this season, you'll recall just about anyone who suited up for Khimki when their roster was depleted a couple weeks back returned value on DraftKings. That will be the case for ASVEL on Thursday, where any established player who suits up should get plenty opportunities to pile up fantasy points. If Amine Noua and Paul Lacombe in particular take the court, they will be guys you'll want to target on DraftKings.
Valencia Basket at CSKA Moscow
Key Injuries: Joan Sastre (PAM), Joel Bolomboy (CSK), Janis Strelnieks (CSK)
Best Bets for Success: Will Clyburn and Mike James are averaging just about the same amount of DrafKings points per Round, but Clyburn is the safer fantasy option of the two this week, as James has been a bit volatile and is facing a Valencia defense that has been tough against opposing guards. Bojan Dubljevic keeps chugging along for the Spanish team, and Nikola Kalinic is also looking like a consistent producer.
DFS Darlings: While Nikola Milutinov has played sparingly thus far, he now has a couple games under his belt and claimed a starting spot last week. He's far better than the $6,100 he will cost in Thursday's contests on DraftKings, and he will be a steal in fantasy contests if he receives a full workload. Whether starting or coming off the bench, Klemen Prepelic continues to play a key role for Valencia and remains one of the best value options on the slate. Fellow guard Vanja Marinkovic had his first productive game of the season his last time out, and if he hangs onto his starting spot he's worth a look as well.
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul at Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv
Key Injuries: Danilo Barthel (ULK), Omri Casspi (TEL), Yovel Zoosman (TEL), John DiBartolomeo (TEL)
Best Bets for Success: Scottie Wilbekin is the most expensive player on Thursday's DraftKings slate, but he has earned that spot, as he is also the only available player averaging over 30 points per Round on that website. Ante Zizic is also turning into a steady performer for Maccabi. Nando de Colo and Jan Vesely both struggled their last time out, but they're prime bounceback candidates -- particularly Vesely, as Maccabi has struggled to contain opposing frontcourt players.
DFS Darlings: It will be slim pickings for value options in this game, but with Barthel out of action Dyshawn Pierre should play more than he usually does, and he had his most productive game of the season when Barthel was sidelined in Round 2. Ahmet Duverioglu is also an intriguing play, as he could join the starting lineup and gets the same matchup Vesely does.
FC Bayern Munich at Real Madrid
Key Injuries: Anthony Randolph (MAD), Gabriel Deck (MAD)
Best Bets for Success: Bayern's developing "Big 3" of Vladimir Lucic, Wade Baldwin and Jalen Reynolds all rank top-10 in average fantasy points and average value on Thursday's DraftKings slate, and they are all capable of producing Thursday against a Madrid squad that is allowing the third-most points per game in the league. It's been an odd season for the Spanish squad, and the team's most-reliable contributor thus far has been Trey Thompkins, who has scored in double figures in four straight. Facundo Campazzo and Walter Tavares are no longer the locks they used to be, with Campazzo seemingly turning one eye toward the NBA and Tavares not rebounding or blocking shots as often as he did last season. They're both too good to be held down for long, though.
DFS Darlings: Alberto Abalde is starting to find his footing in Madrid, and with Deck out of action Abalde has a good shot to play 30 minutes Thursday for the second game in a row. Bayern's Zan Sisko is carving out a regular role for his club, and he has proven he can return 5x value on DraftKings, having recently done that in Round 4.