This article is part of our DraftKings EuroLeague DFS Picks series.
Slate Overview
Playoff time is finally here and we kick it off with a two-game slate featuring an electric atmosphere in Greece and matchup between two Spanish clubs who have faced off three times this season. The only major injury news to note involves Baskonia's Chima Moneke, who is expected to miss the first two games against Real Madrid. With Moneke out, several Baskonia frontcourt options will be in play, and we will discuss below.
Guards to Go After
Players listed in order of confidence
Preferred Plays
Wade Baldwin IV, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv ($10,600)
A matchup with Jerian Grant is never fun, but there are a couple reasons why I don't mind starting things off with Baldwin. First off, Grant is returning from a knee injury, so he could switch off Baldwin at times for preservation purposes. We also get a bit of a discount on Baldwin's price, which touched $12,000 not all that long ago. Lastly, we're going to see playoff minutes from Baldwin, which means he should barely step off the court.
Kendrick Nunn, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens ($9,100)
Kostas Sloukas, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens ($9,700)
I think one of the two top-tier Panathinaikos guards are a must in Tuesday's lineups. Both will play at least 30 minutes and Maccabi can be beaten in the backcourt.
Codi Miller-McIntyre, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz ($10,300)
I'm once again going to lean toward Miller-McIntyre over Markus Howard for the simple fact that the former is not scoring-dependent. With Moneke out I think Miller-McIntyre will crash the boards even more and also take on some more of the scoring load.
Facundo Campazzo, Real Madrid ($8,600)
I really don't know what to think of Campazzo lately. He just isn't asked to do all that much and I think he will play less than 28 minutes despite this being a good matchup. If he's efficient, though, he can pay off this affordable price tag in this fast-paced game.
Valuable Values
Tamir Blatt, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv ($6,600)
The minutes are the only scary thing with John DiBartolomeo back, but if we get 29 from Blatt that should do. I really like how productive Blatt is when he's on the court, and this is a pretty nice rate.
Marius Grigonis, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens ($6,900)
He should play all the minutes he can handle, and if he gets hot from behind the arc he can really break the slate by returning 3x value.
Sergio Rodriguez, Real Madrid ($4,700)
We saw him pop last year in the Playoffs and the veteran could be leaned upon again. I think he's worth a flier in GPPs or a last piece that helps you fit other players in.
Frontcourt in Focus
Players listed in order of confidence
Preferred Plays
Mathias Lessort, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens ($9,400)
Lessort is the cheapest he has been in months and will be part of a fast-paced game? Sign me up.
Mario Hezonja, Real Madrid ($9,500)
I'm very hesitant here, as whenever Real Madrid is at full strength and Hezonja is max-priced he really needs to shoot efficiently to pay off this price tag. The matchup is elite, though, and he's one of the guys on the slate who has 4x potential.
Walter Tavares, Real Madrid ($8,100)
Just a disrespectful price for one of the best centers in the league in a soft matchup against Baskonia's interior.
Matt Costello, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz ($8,000)
It's a matchup thing here, as Costello is Baskonia's stretch big man who they like to run out there against Real Madrid to bring Tavares out of the paint and open up more room to attack the basket.
Konstantinos Mitoglou, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens ($8,300)
It was a tough decision between Mitoglou and Josh Nebo for the last frontcourt player above $8,000, but I'm going with Mitoglou, who should come out motivated after being called out at the end of season. This is not a diss on Nebo. I would just rather use him against bigs who aren't athletic like Lessort is.
Valuable Values
Tadas Sedekerskis, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz ($7,600)
He can be a frustrating player to roster, but with Moneke out he will have to play nearly every minute at the power forward spot. He is very live for a double-double despite the matchup.
Guerschon Yabusele, Real Madrid ($7,800)
I was debating Dzanan Musa and Yabusele but will go with the latter for two reasons. First he's a few hundred bucks cheaper and secondly he should be able to get after Baskonia more on the interior than Musa will on the perimeter.
Nikos Rogkavopoulos, Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz ($4,900)
Rogkavopoulos should benefit minutes-wise from the Moneke injury and could even start. Plus, he's shown he's not afraid to get up shots.
Vincent Poirier, Real Madrid ($7,400)
We like Poirier for the same reasons we like Tavares. If the latter finds himself in foul trouble early, Poirier could crush the slate at this price.
Roman Sorkin, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv ($5,000)
This is a gut call, but I'm thinking Sorkin will be spry and ready to go Tuesday and that he could get some extra minutes due to his talents. He's a very risky high-upside play.
