This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- ALBA's Simone Fontecchio will not play Tuesday due to an ankle injury.
THE SLATE
Panathinaikos OPAP Athens at LDLC ASVEL
Key Injuries: None
Best Bets for Success: There was a clear divide -- in fantasy points, only -- on the Greek team in November, as four players averaged at least 22.4 points on DraftKings and no one else put up more than 15.8 per game. Out of that group of four, the best options in Tuesday's contests appear to be Georgios Papagiannis and Howard Sant-Roos, mainly by a process of elimination. The French club is giving up the fewest threes per game -- not good news for Nemanja Nedovic -- and has been among the stoutest against opposing forwards, which does not bode well for Ioannis Papapetrou. As for ASVEL, despite a down game last week, Moustapha Fall remains the top pick. Fall did not have the matchup in his favor in Round 11, but he will Tuesday, as Panathinaikos ranks bottom-5 against opposing centers in all of points, rebounds and blocks.
DFS Darlings: A couple of Fall's teammates will be worthy of consideration Tuesday, starting with David Lighty. Since scoring a total of seven points over the first two Rounds of the season, Lighty has averaged 11.3 ppg. He has picked up the pace in other areas as well, averaging 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals over the last four Rounds. Panathinaikos has been tough on forwards -- the position Lighty is listed at -- but Lighty is just as much a shooting guard as a small forward, and Panathinaikos has not been as stingy against backcourt players. For that same reason, take a gander at Norris Cole. He has scored in double figures in all four games he has appeared in, and there's room for more if his minutes increase. Panathinaikos' top-heavy roster limits their value plays, but with Shelvin Mack presumably ineligible to play Tuesday because he was not on the roster when the game was originally scheduled, Marcus Foster should have more opportunities to produce than he has received lately.
ALBA Berlin at AX Armani Exchange Milan
Key Injuries: Marcus Eriksson (BER), Jonas Mattisseck (BER), Luigi Datome (MIL)
Best Bets for Success: This figures to be a high-scoring affair, as Milan is leading the league in scoring and both clubs are among the top-5 in points allowed. Assuming Datome remains out, only seven Milan players will be worthy of considering Tuesday, but you can make a case for any and all of them. Their top options appear to be Malcolm Delaney and Sergio Rodriguez, as opposing guards are averaging over an assist more against ALBA than any other team, and both players can score the ball if they aren't passing it. Delaney gets an edge over Rodriguez, as he will cost quite a bit less on both FanDuel and DraftKings. The Italian team has had issues with guards as well, allowing players at those positions to score more points on a per-game basis than anyone else. That sets up Peyton Siva for success, and like the Milan guards he will have a good shot at a double-double.
DFS Darlings: The German squad is giving up loads of points to forwards and centers, which brings all of Shavon Shields, Kyle Hines, Zach LeDay and Vladimir Micov into play. None of them are particularly cheap on FanDuel, but Shields is easily returning the most value of the four on that website, so he looks like the top pick there. He's a little too pricey on DraftKings, so we'll go with Hines as the top option on that website. He is the cheapest of the bunch and could be on the receiving end of more assists than usual. Last but not least, while ALBA has limited backcourt scoring, Kevin Punter instantly became Milan's top point producer, and he will be particularly appealing on DraftKings at less than $7,800. The German team has a few intriguing value plays of its own, with the top one being Ben Lammers. It took a few games for the big man to get going, but he averaged over 24 points per game on both websites over the last five Rounds. You can also consider Niels Giffey and Maodo Lo, as both should see extra time in Eriksson's absence. Giffey is leading ALBA in scoring since Round 3, and Lo will be in position to take advantage of Milan's friendly backcourt defense.