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DraftKings European League Basketball Picks February 23rd

By Mike Marteny

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 17: Gustavo Ayon #15 of the New Orleans Hornets reacts during the game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on February 17, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 17: Gustavo Ayon #15 of the New Orleans Hornets reacts during the game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden on February 17, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Chris Trotman/Getty Images) /
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ATHENS, GREECE – MAY 04: A general view during the EuroLeague Final Four Semi Final match between CSKA Moscow and Unicaja at the Oaka Arena on May 4, 2007 in Athens, Greece. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

DraftKings European League Basketball Picks February 23rd

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The Euro League is back from break, coming back just a touch earlier than the NBA. This is guard day in the Euro League with the three top guards in action, along with four more priced above $10,000. If we really try, we can cram two in there, but which two? This is a stacked guard slate!

The Euro league is a different animal. It is much more halfcourt oriented than the NBA game. The games are also eight minutes shorter. There are 16 teams in the Euro League instead of 30. That means a more shallow player pool to choose from!

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BOSTON, MA – MARCH 11: Nick Calathes #12 of the Memphis Grizzlies carries the ball against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on March 11, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /

Guards:

First thing first: Luka Doncic has by far the best matchup among the elite guards. That will likely lead to higher ownership. Doncic had 37 in the first Battle de Espana. However, Nick Calathes also put up 37 in the first matchup with Khimki. As for Shved? He only had 27 in the first meeting with Athens. I like Doncic because of the better matchup, but Calathes is a suitable pivot play who is slightly less and should be lower owned.

Kevin Pangos had his streak of six straight games of more than 30 DraftKings points broken right before the break, but it was against a good Khimki defense. He only had 25 in the first meeting with Efes, but judging by his performance heading into the break, Pangos should be able to up that this time around. Taylor Rochestie is the only other five figure guard I would even consider, but he is not the most consistent guy out there.

The middle tier is a mess right now, but my favorites are the Bamberg backcourt of Ricky Hickman and Dino Hackett. Neither have really high upside, but I like Hackett a bit better because of the lower price. Facundo Campazzo has played well lately alongside Doncic, and is worth a look against Barcelona in this tier.

Looking into the bargain tier, I wouldn’t go all in on Mike James just yet. However, that does take some value away from Nikos Pappas and Matt Lojeski. I wouldn’t play any of the three until we know how the arrival of James will shake up this backcourt. Toney Douglas is a solid value guy, but has little upside. Given that, I would prefer Pau Ribas at about $1,000 less. If you need to go even cheaper than that, try Real Madrid backup Jaycee Carroll, who has four straight games of double digit DraftKings points.

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TAMPA, FL – MARCH 19: Tyler Honeycutt #23 of the UCLA Bruins reacts against the Florida Gators during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men’s basketball tournament at St. Pete Times Forum on March 19, 2011 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /

Forwards:

The return of Gustavo Ayon will take away a lot of the Real Madrid frontcourt value, but I want no piece of this against Barcelona anyway. I want to see how Ayon does in his first Euro League tilt since November 2nd. Paulius Jankunas has a much better matchup, and is the safer pick here.

Tyler Honeycutt has put up two huge rounds filling in for Thomas Robinson. He has another solid matchup against Athens, and is likely the biggest threat for 30 in today’s frontcourt. Bryant Dunston went for 38 DraftKings points in the first meeting with Zalgiris, but he has not topped 22 since January 12th.

Dorell Wright and Chris Singleton both have really good matchups, but Wright has been by far the more consistent play. Wright has three straight rounds of more than 20 DraftKings points. If you need to go a little cheaper, Aaron White continues to be one of the most consistent producers in the frontcourt. Since January began, he has only been under 20 DraftKings points twice.

Krunoslav Simon and Vladimir Stimac both had good games in the first matchup against Zalgiris, but neither has been good nor consistent lately. Zoran Dragic is the one that needs to be owned from Efes today. Adam Hanga is the better option for me, even with Ayon back. Teammate Ante Tomic has gone largely unnoticed despite four straight rounds of more than 20 DraftKings points.

We have to dig deep for value today, but Axel Toupane is the one that really stands out. Toupane has more than 20 DraftKings points in three of the last four rounds. He even played 30 minutes against Khimki in the round before the break! If you need to go even cheaper, Kenny Gabriel had a good game last round, but the arrival of Adreian Payne could muddle things in the Athens frontcourt.

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