G - Isaiah Canaan - OLY - 8.7 - @ ASM
We know this is getting boring by now but Canaan is still a bargain and we got to mention it. This is a momentum pick that has more to do with the player's form rather than the matchup with this specific opponent. ASM's defence is among the best in the league and the roster has the units to match OLY's highly physical game. Having said all this, Canaan cannot easily be stopped when he is hot. And the last few weeks he is scorching hot. We don't necessarily expect another 25 PIR game like the last one (4/6 3pts) but at this price tag Canaan is still a bet worth considering.
G - Nick Weiler-Babb - BAY - 8.7 - vs VIR
Nick is in a very good form, averaging 17 PIR in the last 3 Euroleague games with over 26 minutes playtime. This is an economy player (just 4.9 FG per game) who contributes in many parts of the game (last three games avg 9 pts, 7 reb and 4 ast) and is still available at a very good price. BAY is in a very good mood after the big away win against ASV last week. We expect them to be ready for a strong performance at home against VIR in front of their fans and Weiler-Babb leading his team's effort to win!
F - Luka Mitrovic- CZV - 11.0 - vs EFS
Ok, we know this is quite obvious. Mitrovic is having a breakout year and everyone has noticed (and if you haven't already done so, too bad for you). His team got smashed by EA7 a week ago and yet he managed to shine again with 23 PIR. This time around the opponent is much more suited to his style. And not only that, but EFS' frontcourt will be weakened by Derek Willis' absence. We expect CZV to recover from EA7's blast and Mitrovic's plethoric presence to push CZV to a big win.
F - Mario Hezonja - RMB - 10.0 - @ FBB
It is not easy to pick a F from RMB this season, as there are four superstar players (Deck, Hezonia, Yabusele, and Musa) but only 80 minutes playtime for them to split (all of them could have more than 15 avg PIR if they were playing at different teams)! That simply means that it is very hard to know which one will step up in the next game! So, we need to have at least one good reason for picking super Mario this time. And we feel we have two! First, Yabusele is expected to miss about two months due to an injury which directly means that Mario's playtime is expected to increase. Second, it seems that this is not just an expectation but a realisation! In the last Euroleague game, Mario had 26 pts and 25 PIR against BER (he played for 22:58 min. which is a season high) and in the last game in Liga ACB, Mario had 21 pts and 6 reb in 23:01 min. We feel that he is in a very good form and mood as he has realised that this is the time for him to shine! At a price of 10 crd he is definitely a very good choice!
C - Youssoupha Fall - ASV - 10.3 - @ BAR
This is a weird season for Youssoupha. We will come clean and say that our expectations for him given last year's performance were bordering the realm of a breakout season. Clearly reality has not kept up with our hopes. Ok, let's be fair, he is not too bad. But Lauvergne's solid return has limited his playtime and this is a hit at his confidence. The last few rounds he has moved up a gear and we expect him to continue to do so against BAR. BAR's defence in the paint is among the weakest in the league and if Youssoupha manages to stir away from foul trouble (one of his biggest weaknesses last year) we think he will inflict a quite meaningful damage and reward the ones who believed in him.
C - Josh Nebo - MTA - 11.7 - vs BER
This is not a costless pick, however for a player who has 8 out of 10 games with double digits PIR, at least it seems to be a safe choice. Against BER, we expect MTA to come back after the defeat they suffered two days ago against RMB. Nebo enjoys the fights against tall and strong C opponents (20 PIR against RMB, 17 PIR against BAR) so against Thiemann and Koumadje we expect him to be all but unmotivated! We expect a win for MTA and Nebo achieving PIR > 17 !