Olympiacos at Real Madrid Preview
Date: 12/12
Time: 9:00 PM CET
Game Preview
A red-hot Real Madrid team that has won seven straight EuroLeague games will play host Thursday against Olympiacos, who will have its work cut out for them without point guard Vassilis Spanoulis. Madrid will also be without a point guard as Sergio Llull remains sidelined, but they are in better shape to cover his absence with Facundo Campazzo operating as the team's top point guard this season. Olympiacos will have a chance to compete if Nikola Milutinov controls the paint, but that will be no easy task against reigning EuroLeague Best Defender Walter Tavares.
Injuries
Real Madrid
Sergio Llull - OUT - Thigh
12/11 4:06 AM IST - Llull suffered a setback in his recovery from a thigh injury and will miss a couple more weeks, according to Carlos Sanchez Blas of Pobla FM. Llull was on track to return to action Thursday against Olympiacos, but it turns out he will need several more weeks to recover. Llull's updated recovery timetable means he will likely miss at least three more EuroLeague games, as two EuroLeague Rounds will be played next week instead of the usual one.
Salah Mejri - GTD - Foot
12/5 9:48 PM IST - Mejri (foot) will not play Thursday against Valencia, according to Planetacb. Mejri returned to practice this week, but he will need more time to get back into shape before seeing action for Madrid.
Felipe Reyes - OUT - Thigh
12/9 10:55 PM IST - Reyes will miss several weeks after suffering a right thigh injury in Sunday's domestic league game, according to marca.com. Reyes returned to action Sunday after missing nearly two months with a shoulder injury, but he is now facing another absence after suffering a different injury. A timeline for Reyes' return has not been revealed, but he may not play again until 2020.
Olympiacos
Kevin Punter - GTD - Undisclosed
12/6 11:46 PM IST - Punter will not play Friday against Panathinaikos, according to Harris Stavrou of 24MEDIA. It's not clear why Punter will be held out, but his playing time decreased in each of the last five Rounds, so it seems likely he was simply squeezed off the roster with all Olympiacos players healthy.
Vassilis Spanoulis - OUT - Thigh
12/10 9:22 PM IST - Spanoulis will not play Thursday against Real Madrid due to a thigh injury, according to eurohoops.net. The extent of Spanoulis' injury is not yet known, but it will cost him at least one game. Spanoulis started Olympiacos' last seven EuroLeague games, so the club will not to make a change to its starting lineup in Round 13.
Olympiacos Probable Starters
G - Will Cherry
G - Antonis Koniaris
C - Nikola Milutinov
Real Madrid Probable Starters
G - Facundo Campazzo
G - Fabien Causeur
F - Gabriel Deck
F - Anthony Randolph
C - Walter Tavares
Top Dream11.com Picks
(Captain) Facundo Campazzo, RM - Campazzo tallied a single digit in the scoring column last week for the first time since Round 7, but that's because he was too busy passing the ball to his teammates, racking up a career-high 17 assists. Llull's absence could mean more minutes than usual for Campazzo as long as Thursday's game remains competitive.
Nikola Milutinov, OLY - Milutinov will be challenged by Tavares, but there is plenty reason to believe he will still be productive, as he is nearly averaging a double-double at 10.8 points and a league-leading 9.8 rebounds per game.
Anthony Randolph, RM - Randolph recently signed a contract extension with Madrid, which gives him plenty of reason to play free and easy. The big man has regularly scored in double figures this season, and not just from down low: He has made 28 three-pointers while shooting an impressive 51.9 percent from downtown.
Trey Thompkins, RM - Thompkins has escaped head coach Pablo Laso's doghouse and has started to pour in points. He could provide plenty of value in fantasy contests at an affordable price.
Captaincy Options
Grand League Combination
Campazzo, Milutinov, Thompkins
Small League Combination
Shved, Randolph, Printezis
