G - Darius Thompson - EFS - 12.4 - vs PAO
The first time we picked Thompson didn't pay off but who doesn't deserve a second chance? Especially when this comes in a tough home game with his team decimated by injuries. Most of the heavy guns in EFS' backcourt will not participate in the game against PAO, with Larkin and Thompson being the only stars left to get their team out the mud. We expect PAO's Jerian Grant to be on Larkin duty, forcing EFS' game to Thompson's hands. He will enjoy extra playtime and a lot of decision making responsibilities which hopefully will bring out some of his older, BKN self. A calculated risk worth taking.
G - Vanja Marinkovic - BKN - 6.1 - vs FBB
It's time to pick one of fans' favourites (popularity 13.1%) and in our opinion most undervalued players in Euroleague Fantasy historically. You would expect that with 6.1 crd you can only buy players that either play in garbage time (really? garbage time in Euroleague?) or are expendable. Yet we cannot fit Marinkovic in either category! Not when he has double digit points in the last 5 games in a row playing for more than 22 minutes! If you wonder why he costs only 6.1 crd, the answer is simply the word 'consistency'. Well...expectations for low consistency (5.9 crd was his starting price)! We feel though that this time will be different (we have probably said that a few times in the past)! BKN and FBB are both in great mood and this one is expected to be a dog fight, a derby, a combination of tough and high-pace game that seems to suit perfect for a volume shooter like Vanja (~ 9 FGA per game). For only 6.1 crd the upside is great and our expectation for him is to hit a double digit PIR and show...consistency!
F - Rolands Smits - ZAL - 11.3 - @ BER
Another calculated pick. As mentioned in the past, BER is struggling with versatile forwards even though their own star, Johannes Thiemann, is exactly the same type of player. Smits is going through a quiet spell in the last couple of rounds, passing the torch to Edgaras Ulanovas, after having posted a series of strong PIR performances. Worth recognising though that this happened in away games against OLY and EA7, two teams powerfull in the paint. We think the coming game is a great opportunity for him to bounce back and cause multilateral damage, pushing his PIR in the high teens.
F - Perry Dozier Jr - PAR - 10.6 - vs ASM
We need to pick up the momentum before it's too late (i.e. buy while you can afford with an upside to make some extra crd) and the momentum seems to be great for Perry Dozier Jr. In the last two Euroleague games PJ has scored 21 and 16 pts against EFS and PAO respectively, but most importantly has showed evidence of increasing confidence and certainty in his moves and the way he plays the game. Against ASM we expect him to lead PAR's efforts to win the game in the same way he did against EFS and PAO. We would advise you to not be discouraged by the return of PAR star player, Kevin Punter, as PJ is a versatile player (avg 4 reb, 4.5 ast, 3 stl in the last two games) who contributes in several aspects of the game. We expect that Zeliko will need him to stay more than 25 mins on the court and show the same versatility he has showed in the last few games.
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