EuroLeague Primer: Round 18 - Wednesday

EuroLeague Primer: Round 18 - Wednesday

This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.

PREGAME UPDATES

STATS AND INFO.

THE SLATE

Real Madrid at Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

Per an official announcement from the EuroLeague, "The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 18 game between Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and Real Madrid, originally scheduled to be played on Wednesday, December 29, has been suspended. Madrid requested the suspension after several team members tested positive for COVID-19, which leaves it without the minimum eight players on the Authorization List fit to play."

Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv at AS Monaco

Status Check: James Nunnally (MTA), Yakuba Ouattara (ASM), Rob Gray (ASM), Jerry Boutsiele (ASM)

Best Bets for Success: Three of the four games originally scheduled for Wednesday will not be played due to COVID-19 outbreaks on at least one of the teams, but this contest will go on as planned. It will be a key one for both squads, as Maccabi head coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos is said to be coaching for his job, and Monaco needs a win to remain in shouting distance of a top-8 spot. It will also feature several matchups to target, as the home team is ceding the most points to frontcourt players while the visitors are allowing guards to do more scoring than any other squad. The latter bodes well for Monaco's Mike James, who seems to have found his form, scoring at least 20 points in three of the last four games in which he played his regular role. He could have a particularly big night if he even comes close to matching the 4.0 rebounds and 10.3 assists he has averaged since Monaco swapped coaches. Maccabi has a number of big men who could take advantage of the friendly matchup, but their safest option remains Scottie Wilbekin, who put up marks of 16.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 3.1 threes over his last eight appearances. Monaco ranks bottom-5 against opposing guards in three of the five categories just mentioned and are below average in the other two, so Wilbekin should have ample opportunities to rack up fantasy points.

DFS Darlings: The over/under on this contest is higher than any of the games set to be played Thursday, so those in formats that utilize both days should not be shy about loading up on players from the only game going Wednesday. Maccabi would normally have four frontcourt players capable of capitalizing on Monaco's issues with forwards and centers, but with Nunnally out, that number will be down to three. They could all come through, too, as the French team is allowing players at those positions to grab the most rebounds and make the highest percentage of shots they put up. The most consistent of the trio has been Ante Zizic, who at the halfway point ranks a stellar eighth in the league in average index rating. However, you might have better luck with fellow center Jalen Reynolds, who checks in at a more affordable rate. Reynolds dropped a double-double in Round 16, and he nearly did the same in Sunday's domestic game. Nunnally's absence should also open up some opportunities for Derrick Williams, who is averaging 12.5 points in games in which he plays at least 20 minutes. The rest of Monaco's roster has taken turns complementing James since the coaching change, with seven of them putting up 18.3 DraftKings points at least once over the last three Rounds. As such, it won't be easy to identify their best value plays. Donta Hall and Dwayne Bacon seem to have the biggest upside of the bunch, and there is plenty to like about Alpha Diallo as well. You could also take a shot on Leo Westermann, who was plenty productive in his return to action over the weekend and could be even more involved Wednesday if Gray joins Ouattara on the inactive list.

CSKA Moscow at Olympiacos Piraeus

Per an official announcement from the EuroLeague, "The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 18 game between Olympiacos Piraeus and CSKA Moscow, originally scheduled to be played on Wednesday, December 29, has been suspended. Olympiacos requested the suspension after several team members tested positive for COVID-19, which leaves it without the minimum eight players on the Authorization List fit to play."

ALBA Berlin at AX Armani Exchange Milan

Per an official announcement from the EuroLeague, "The Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 18 game between AX Armani Exchange Milan and ALBA Berlin, originally scheduled to be played on Wednesday, December 29, has been suspended. Milan requested the suspension after several team members tested positive for COVID-19, which leaves it without the minimum eight players on the Authorization List fit to play."

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Kevin O'Brien plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: FanDuel: kevob100, DraftKings: kevob100.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kevin O'Brien
Kevin mans the Packers and Brewers beats and moonlights as RotoWire's Director of Operations.
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