This article is part of our EuroLeague Primer series.
PREGAME UPDATES
- ALBA's Christ Koumadje and Yannick Wetzell will not play in Round 14.
- Shane Larkin remains sidelined for Efes.
- Virtus Bologna's Jordan Mickey will not play Friday.
- Barcelona's Sertac Sanli will sit out Round 14.
- Partizan's Aleksa Avramovic will suit up Friday for the first time this season.
- Lefteris Bochoridis remains sidelined for Panathinaikos.
- Baskonia's Pierria Henry will suit up Friday.
- Fenerbahce's Dyshawn Pierre will be available for Round 14, but Tarik Biberovic will not.
STATS AND INFO.
- EuroLeague Betting Odds
- EuroLeague Starting Lineups
- EuroLeague Injury Report
- EuroLeague Team Stats
- Opponent Averages
- Team Trends
- Twitter - @RotoWireEuro
THE SLATE
Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz at 
Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul
Status Check: Pierria Henry (BKN), Scottie Wilbekin (FBB), Johnathan Motley (FBB), Nemanja Bjelica (FBB), Dyshawn Pierre (FBB), Tarik Biberovic (FBB)
The Breakdown: After knocking off Efes on Wednesday, Baskonia will attempt to complete the Turkish two-step against first-place Fenerbahce. That will be no simple task, but it will be made easier with Fenerbahce nowhere near full strength. Despite some notable absences, Fenerbahce is favored by as many as 5.5 points in its home arena, where they are 5-1 this season. The over/under on this game is not the biggest of the day, but the scoreboard could get a workout, as both clubs rank top-5 in pace and offensive rating.
Best Bets for Success: With Henry on track to play and five different Fenerbahce players leading their team in fantasy points over the last five Rounds, it will not be easy identifying the top option on either side. You could make a case for three Baskonia guards here, but we are going to give the nod to Henry, even though he has done a lot of traveling in recent days. Henry averaged a team-leading 28.9 DrafKings points over his last five appearances and should have a little extra motivation against the team he spent last season with. On the Fenerbahce side, Nick Calathes could have his hands full with Henry, so we are going to go with Marko Guduric in Round 14. Guduric has hit the 20-point mark on DraftKings in three straight appearances and averaged a well-rounded 12.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.6 three-pointers over his last eight appearances.
Fantasy Factors: Guards are making a lower percentage of their shots against Baskonia than any other team, but they are also getting up as many shots against them as any team in the league, which bodes well for Carsen Edwards. While Edwards has been a bit hit-or-miss, he checks in at an affordable $7,400 on DraftKings and put up at least 20.3 points on that website in four of his last six trips to the court. Tonye Jekiri also looks like a good option at $5,500, as Motley will not play and Baskonia is ceding more rebounds to opposing centers than any other team. Baskonia's backcourt figures to soak up the bulk of the statistics in Round 14, particularly with Fenerbahce ranking top-4 against forwards in points, rebounds, threes and field goal percentage. The Turkish team is allowing the second highest FG% to opposing centers, so you could consider Steven Enoch on DraftKings at $6,200.
Anadolu Efes Istanbul at 
Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade
Status Check: Shane Larkin (EFS), Dogus Balbay (EFS), Aleksa Avramovic (PAR), Balsa Koprivica (PAR)
The Breakdown: Neither of these clubs play all that quickly, but Partizan is allowing nearly three more points per game than any other team and two of the top five scorers in the league reside on the Efes roster, so the oddsmakers are expecting this to be the highest-scoring contest of the evening. The Turkish team is favored by up to 4.5 points despite hitting the road, and they could be even more potent if Larkin sees his first EuroLeague action of the season. Partizan has dropped five straight, but they have the talent to keep pace and rank third in the league in offensive rating.
Best Bets for Success: Whenever Larkin returns, things will change for Efes, as he has proven to be one of the top scorers in Europe. However, if he plays Friday it's unlikely he will handle a full workload, so we will again list Vasilije Micic and Will Clyburn like we have done regularly since Round 2. No team is allowing both guards and forwards to put more points on the board than Partizan, so it could be another big night for both players. We also have to include Rodrigue Beaubois after watching him average 34.1 DraftKings points over his last five appearances, but it may be best to avoid him if Larkin goes. On the flip side, Efes is ceding the second fewest points to opposing guards, so it's tough to go with anyone other than Mathias Lessort. The big man was slowed by an elbow injury in November, but he is averaging 16.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals in three appearances this month, and he also ranks second in the league in average index rating.
Fantasy Factors: Both these teams are pretty top-heavy when it comes to fantasy points, but Amath M'Baye has done enough to earn a mention, and -- if he plays -- Larkin at least deserves consideration on DraftKings at just $8,600. It will be tough for Dante Exum to match the 43.0 points he put up on that website Tuesday, but he did record at least 21.5 DraftKings points in four of his last six appearances.
Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv at 
Virtus Segafredo Bologna
Status Check: Wade Baldwin IV (MTA), Alex Poythress (MTA), Jordan Mickey (VIR), Semi Ojeleye (VIR), Awudu Abass (VIR), Leo Menalo (VIR)
The Breakdown: Both these clubs will be going for a 2-0 week after picking up a win their last time out. Maccabi checks in six spots higher in the standings and has been far more efficient offensively, but they will still be without one half of their dynamic backcourt duo, so they will not have as much of an advantage on that end as the secondary statistics suggest. Maccabi is just 1-5 away from home this season, and the experts expect them to drop another road game, as Virtus is favored by as many as 4.0 points on its home court.
Best Bets for Success: It would be tough to find a player hotter than Lorenzo Brown, who averaged 22.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.4 steals, 2.0 threes and a whopping 39.8 DraftKings points over his last five appearances. Virtus is a little better than average against guards, but Brown faced a couple tough matchups during that stretch and still delivered, so there is not much to be concerned about. The Italian team could be down its top producer in Mickey, and it's probably best to avoid him even if he does take the court Friday. No team is allowing guards to tally more points and triples nor make a higher percentage of their shots than Maccabi, so Milos Teodosic looks like the best option for Virtus in Round 14. Teodosic just missed notching his first double-double of the season his last time out.
Fantasy Factors: The same matchup could allow Iffe Lundberg to get back on track, and he checks in at an affordable $7,700. Maccabi also ranks bottom-4 against centers in points and rebounds, which bodes well for Mam Jaiteh. If Mickey is ruled out, you could take a shot with Tornike Shengelia at $8,600. There really aren't any matchups to target or avoid on the Virtus side, but with Baldwin and Poythress out, all of Bonzie Colson, Roman Sorkin and Jalen Adams are interesting at their price points. Among the bunch, Colson is returning the most average value on DraftKings.
Panathinaikos Athens at 
FC Barcelona
Status Check: Marius Grigonis (PAO), Lefteris Bochoridis (PAO), Alex Abrines (BAR), Sergi Martinez (BAR)
The Breakdown: This game will pit two teams who like to play at different speeds, as only one team plays at a quicker pace than Panathinaikos and only one team goes slower than Barcelona. The over/under suggests Barcelona will control the flow, as the over/under on this game is at least 5.0 points lower than the total points expected in the other four games. The Greek team is playing better of late, but Barcelona comes in on a 7-2 run and has been bolstered by the return of reigning MVP Nikola Mirotic, and they are favored by double digits across the board.
Best Bets for Success: Mirotic led Barcelona in DraftKings points for the third time in as many appearances his last time out, so it looks like he will be locked into this spot moving forward. Panathinaikos is allowing forwards to grab more rebounds than any other team and are also allowing players at those positions to get up a lot of shots, so don't be surprised if Mirotic picks up his first double-double of the season Friday. The discussion on the Panathinaikos side has to start with Dwayne Bacon, who is now leading the league in points per game. He will face a tough test Friday, as Barcelona ranks top-4 against forwards in points, threes, FG% and FGA, but the opportunities should be there, as he is also averaging more attempts from the field than any other player and is third in the league in minutes per contest. Derrick Williams will have the same matchup as Bacon, but he checks in just behind his teammate in minutes per game and is 12th in FGA per contest.
Fantasy Factors: The Greek team ranks bottom-3 against centers in points, rebounds, blocks and FGA, so it could be a big night for Barcelona's big men. Jan Vesely has the most upside, but Sertac Sanli has been the steadiest of the five centers on the Spanish squad's roster. Tomas Satoransky will also land here for the second time this week with his DraftKings price dropping to $8,200. There is not much else to look at on the Panathinaikos side, as Barcelona ranks top-2 against guards in rebounds, assists and threes. However, Georgios Papagiannis averaged 24.0 DraftKings points against Barcelona last season and is listed at an affordable $8,700.
Status Check: Marcus Eriksson (BER), Yannick Wetzell (BER), Jordan Loyd (ASM)
The Breakdown: The final contest of the final double-game week of the calendar year figures to be a fun one, as ALBA is averaging nearly two more possessions per 40 minutes than any other team and Monaco can get up and down the court when need be. Things have not been any fun for the German team recently, as they have dropped 10 straight games in EuroLeague play. They should be closer to full strength than their counterparts with Loyd still sidelined, but the oddsmakers still expect the home team to cruise, as Monaco is favored by as many as 10.5 points. If ALBA hopes to snap their streak, they will really need to tighten things up on the defensive end, having allowed an average of 90.2 points over the last six Rounds.
Best Bets for Success: Mike James put up 25.0 DraftKings points Tuesday even with Monaco scoring only 63 points, and he figures to top that number with his team likely doing more scoring in Round 14. Only one player taking the court Friday is returning more average value on DraftKings, and he checks in cheaper than six other players on that website. Monaco has been most susceptible to opposing forwards, which is good news for Luke Sikma. He has not been particularly consistent of late, but he did put up at least 30.3 DraftKings points three times over his last six appearances.
Fantasy Factors: Elie Okobo was contained Tuesday, but all signs point to him being a quality value play Friday. With Loyd out in Round 13, Okobo played more than 30 minutes for the first time since Round 2, and he will take on an ALBA team allowing more assists to guards than any other team and also ranks bottom-3 against players at those positions in points and FGA. Alpha Diallo should also benefit if this game moves at a quicker pace, and he is appealing on DraftKings at just $8,800. ALBA has several potential bargains, starting with Jaleen Smith, who averaged 14.9 ppg over his last eight appearances. Monaco is not allowing guards to do a lot of scoring, but they do rank bottom-2 against players at those positions in rebounds, assists and triples, so Maodo Lo will be in the mix as well. Lastly, don't forget about Louis Olinde, as only three players taking the court Friday are returning more average value on DraftKings.
