RADIO
The EuroLeague season reconvenes after a week off. We begin Round 25 with a four-game slate. Most of the high-profile injuries are cleared up. Devin Booker traveled to the U.S. for family reasons and hasn't cleared COVID protocols yet. It seems likely that he won't play today. Zach Leday is still out as well, but those are about the only high-profile players still out after the break.
We kick this slate off at noon Eastern. None of the games are in danger of being canceled, so this is going to be a star-laden slate. We need some value to go with these big names. It should also be prudent to avoid the less-than-ideal matchups. There are enough good spots to pick and choose.
In this article, I will be providing you with my daily fantasy EuroLeague lineup picks for DraftKings on 2/18/21. I’ll be providing multiple player suggestions for players at guard, forward, and center, aiming to highlight one option apiece at the high, middle, and lower end of the salary scale. Good luck, RotoBallers.
DraftKings EuroLeague DFS Guards
Shane Larkin, Efes ($10,900)
The starting Efes backcourt of Larkin and Vasilije Micic smashed Piraeus in the first meeting. Micic had the better game in the first meeting, but Larkin was the guy cruising into the break. He had five straight rounds with 27 or more DraftKings points. Four of those cleared 30. I also chose Larkin because of the higher ceiling. He's one of the best pure shooters in the league and can put up points in a hurry. I have no issue running Micic to be different, but honestly, I think I'll run both in at least one lineup.
Luca Vildoza, Vitoria-Gasteiz ($8,200)
This is one of the few slates of the season where I'm not stumbling over myself trying to get Alexey Shved in lineups. He's still an elite play when it comes to EuroLeague, but a perfect storm of a smash spot for Efes and two really good guards going against his Khimki team has me attacking the other side of this. Khimki has leaked tons of fantasy points to guards. The most in the league, in fact. Henry is a solid option, but Vildoza put up numbers very near that of Henry in the first meeting and he is far more consistent overall. My plan is to run Vildoza with a rotating big star to build different lineups.
Vyacheslav Zaytsev, Khimki ($6,500)
There will be a few more minutes to pick up for the guards with Booker presumably out again. Khimki routinely runs three guards anyway, but it's the tweeners like Zaytsev and Stefan Jovic who will see the largest boost. Zaytsev has been seeing a few more minutes than Jovic and he's $500 cheaper, so that's the way I'm leaning. Both are good plays though, especially in games where Errick McCollum goes cold.
Also consider: Pierria Henry, Vitoria-Gasteiz ($10,500); Elijah Bryant, Tel Aviv ($7,800); Vassilis Spanoulis, Piraeus ($5,100)
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DraftKings EuroLeague DFS Forwards
Achille Polonara, Vitoria-Gasteiz ($9,800)
Polonara was one of the Baskonia players that had a ceiling game against Khimki in the first meeting. Polonara put up a season-best 44 DraftKings points in that game. That's not a total anomaly. Polonara has broken 40 three other times as well. When you have a legit chance at 40 for under five figures, you have to take it, especially if you are playing cash games. With the struggles of Mirotic since he returned and in the wake of another long layoff, Polonara is easily the best forward on the slate.
Shavon Shields, Milan ($8,100)
The Nebraska product isn't one of the most consistent guys around, but he racked up 35.25 DraftKings points in the first meeting with Tel Aviv. As I stated earlier, Zach Leday is still out. That boosts the value of Shields and Kyle Hines. Hines isn't much of a scorer though, so Shields will become the primary scoring threat in the Milan frontcourt. I don't know that I would expect another 30 point outburst from Shields, but he should at least finish in the high-20's. That's good enough for this price.
Hassan Martin, Piraeus ($6,800)
Kostas Papanikolaou has already been ruled out so that should mean more run for Martin and Sasha Vezenkov. Vezenkov has been putting up strong numbers of late, but it was Martin with the big game against Efes earlier this year. I expect most of the responsibilities of Papanikolaou to fall to Martin instead of Vezenkov, especially when you consider the success that Martin already had against Efes. Georgios Printezis should see a slight boost as well, but he's only $100 cheaper. For me, Martin is more of a sure thing.
Also consider: Nikola Mirotic, Barcelona ($10,600); Rokas Giedraitis, Vitoria-Gasteiz ($7,800); Dragan Bender, Tel Aviv ($5,800)
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