This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- Efes' Vasilije Micic and Krunoslav Simon will be available for Wednesday's contest, but Bryant Dunston and Dogus Balbay will not be.
- Ioannis Papapetrou and Okaro White will suit up for Panathinaikos on Wednesday.
- Andrey Vorontsevich will play Wednesday for UNICS, but Viacheslav Zaitcev will not.
STATS AND INFO.
THE SLATE
Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz at 
UNICS Kazan
Status Check: Rokas Giedraitis (BKN), Alec Peters (BKN), Andrey Vorontsevich (UNK)
Best Bets for Success: Giedraitis will sit this one out for the visitors, so one of the two Baskonia players listed in this section for Round 5 is not eligible for this contest. The other player mentioned was Simone Fontecchio, who wound up topping the 30-point mark on DraftKings for the third straight Round. Fontecchio will be the Spanish squad's top option on the offensive end in this one, but he will have his work cut out for him in this one, as forwards have averaged far fewer points and are shooting far worse from the field against UNICS than any other team. The same can't be said for Jayson Granger, as the Russian team has been friendlier to opposing guards than anyone else. Granger has been nearly as productive as Fontecchio, averaging 26.4 DraftKings points over the last three Rounds, and he's also $1,000 cheaper than his teammate. UNICS' top trio of players keeps rolling along, and it remains tough to separate the three, particularly with Baskonia pretty neutral against all positions. Mario Hezonja and Lorenzo Brown seem to be the safest picks among the group, as Isaiah Canaan is contributing in the points column but not much elsewhere.
DFS Darlings: The over/under on this game -- and the next one -- is notably lower than the total for the final two games of the day, so be cautious about going overboard with value plays. However, UNICS is handling opposing centers just about as well as they are opposing guards, so there will be some matchups to attack. Both Matt Costello and Steven Enoch check in at the center spot, and neither Baskonia big man costs more than $6,300 on DraftKings. Baskonia does not have many other guards to consider, but we'll again toss out Wade Baldwin -- now down to $8,100 on DraftKings -- if you want to get risky. Just be aware Baldwin was limited to just 12 minutes in his club's last domestic contest. We'll also give Vanja Marinkovic a mention, as although he's listed as a forward, he has guard skills and will run you a meager $4,500. UNICS won't have many opportunities open if Vorontsevich plays, but if he sits, John Brown would be in position to capitalize.
Real Madrid at 
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Status Check: Anthony Randolph (RMB), Trey Thompkins (RMB), Nigel Williams-Goss (RMB), Shabazz Napier (ZEN)
Best Bets for Success: The oddsmakers expect this to be a close one, but it could be a tough day for Zenit's forwards and centers, as Real Madrid ranks top-3 against opposing forwards in all of points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and threes per game and top-2 against frontcourt players in general in the first four categories listed. As such expect the home team to rely on Jordan Loyd to keep the game within reach. Loyd's scoring dipped the last couple Rounds, but he still contributed in other areas, and he should bounce back in the points column if he gets a few more shots up. He will be worth going after on DraftKings, as he checks in at $9,100 -- $2,000 lower than the mark he opened the season at. One of -- if not the -- the main reasons frontcourt players are having trouble producing against Madrid is the presence of Edy Tavares, who ranks first in the leagues in blocks and second in rebounds per contes. Tavares sat out last week's game while on paternity leave, but the new father dropped a double-double in a domestic game over the weekend, so expect the league leader in average index rating and the active player averaging the most DraftKings points on Wednesday's slate to be at full speed for this one.
DFS Darlings: Given the matchups mentioned above and the over/under note mentioned in the previous game's breakdown, there won't be many value plays to choose from. In fact, no one besides Loyd looks particularly appealing on DraftKings at his current price point. With Williams-Goss out and Sergio Llull returning but not yet 100 percent, Real Madrid guards Thomas Heurtel and Carlos Alocen will get a boost, though. Heurtel is averaging 23.3 DraftKings points when he plays at least 20 minutes per game, and Alocen will have a chance to return 3x value on that website at just $5,800.
CSKA Moscow at 
LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne
Status Check: Nikola Milutinov (CSK), Tornike Shengelia (CSK), Marius Grigonis (CSK), Raymar Morgan (ASV)
Best Bets for Success: With CSKA still down three key players, Will Clyburn will lead the charge for another Round. Clyburn's floor is pretty high, as he got up 16 shots per contest over the past three Rounds and averaged 20.3 ppg over the last four. He should get the same number of opportunities to score the ball Wednesday. Johannes Voigtmann was listed here last week as well, but with Kenneth Faried's presence potentially shaking up CSKA's big-man rotation some, we'll stick to just the one option this time around. The Russian team is handling opposing guards pretty well, but they are allowing them to put up plenty of points. That bodes well for ASVEL's dynamic backcourt duo of Elie Okobo and Chris Jones, who come in third and fifth in the league, respectively, in points per game. Both have topped the 20-point mark on DraftKings every time out this season and will be in position to do so again.
DFS Darlings: While Joel Bolomboy is part of the same CSKA frontcourt Voigtmann and Faried are, he carries a little less risk on DraftKings at a mere $7,000. He would have returned 3x value in each of the past two Rounds at that price, which makes him more worthy of a gamble. CSKA isn't too friendly to froncourt players at first glance, but they are allowing forwards and centers to shoot a surprisingly-high percentage from the field, which could make David Lighty and Youssoupha Fall sneaky plays. Lighty has a couple games under his belt after returning from a trip to the United States, and Fall -- just $5,600 on DraftKings -- rejoined the starting lineup in Round 5 and dropped 26 points and 11 rebounds in a domestic game over the weekend.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul at 
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens
Status Check: Vasilije Micic (EFS), Krunoslav Simon (EFS), Bryant Dunston (EFS), James Anderson (EFS), Dogus Balbay (EFS), Ioannis Papapetrou (PAO), Okaro White (PAO)
Best Bets for Success: Injuries are the name of the game in this one, as the statuses of several key players on both sides are uncertain. Even if Micic suits up for Efes it seems he will not be at full speed, so Shane Larkin gets top billing for the visiting team in Round 6. Larkin has not done much scoring since Round 1, but he's getting the job done in other areas, averaging 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.7 threes per contest. That gives him a nice floor, and he always has the potential to put up a big night in the points column. Papapetrou has been Panathinaikos' best player this season, but with him unlikely to play Wednesday, someone will need to fill his spot. The Greek team does have a few options to consider, but we will go with Georgios Papagiannis, whose playing time has picked up and who averaged 9.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 1.5 blocks over the last two Rounds.
DFS Darlings: Given all the injuries, the expected over/under for this game, and the fact Panathinaikos has been one of the worst against opposing centers and Efes the same against forwards on the opposite side, the conditions are ripe for value plays. Nemanja Nedovic seems likely to pick up some of scoring load if both Papapetrou and White sit out, and he will run you just $7,900 on DraftKings. Daryl Macon has already been doing plenty of scoring, checking in tied for 11th in the league in that department, and he doesn't cost too much more at $8,600. Jeremy Evans would also look good at $6,100 if both teammates sit. On the Efes side, Elijah Bryant looks to be the best bargain on the board, as he still costs $7,000 on DraftKings despite a productive debut. It would be nice to know who Efes' primary center will be, but neither Filip Petrusev nor Tibor Pleiss checks in above $7,300, and they both have the matchup firmly in their favor.
