DraftKings EuroLeague Basketball Picks October 17

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MOSCOW, RUSSIA – OCTOBER 11: Alexey Shved, #1 of Khimki Moscow Region competes with Michael Eric, #50 of Kirolbet Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz in action during the 2019/2020 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 2 match between Khimki Moscow Region and Kirolbet Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz at Arena Mytishchi on October 11, 2019 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Mikhail Serbin/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images) /

DraftKings EuroLeague Guards:

This is the first time we have had both Alexey Shved and Mike James on the same DraftKings EuroLeague slate this year. Whereas last year we had to pick and choose which one we really wanted last year, they are both priced low enough that we can make it work this week. The question is whether we should.

Shved has the highest DraftKings points per game average among guards on the entire slate, but is playing crosstown rival CSKA, a team that had dominated guards this year so far. James has only averaged 23 DraftKings points per game the first two rounds, a far cry from last season when he neared 40. In all honesty, I like Nick Calathes the best out of the top tier. Not only does he have the same output as Shved through the first two rounds, Calathes has one of the easiest matchups on the slate against a beleaguered Milan guard squad.

Few have provided more bang for the DraftKings EuroLeague buck than Sergio Rodriguez so far this year. The price on Rodriguez is up to the point where we actually have to make a tougher decision. Athens has solid guard play, and Scottie Wilbekin, he who dropped 40 DraftKings points on Real Madrid last round, has a superb matchup against Belgrade. This may be one place where it’s okay to fade Sergio. His usage is still through the roof though.

Nemanja Nedovic and the rest of the Munich backcourt have the best guard matchup on the slate. The return of Petteri Koponen limited the upside of Maodo Lo, but I would still play Lo over Koponen for value purposes. If Bray ends up playing, I wouldn’t use anyone outside of Nedovic.

Jimmer has taken well to the EuroLeague. He was a prolific scorer in college at BYU, but never really got going in the NBA. The EuroLeague has been more kind to him. Fredette has a nice matchup against a battered Milan team and has scored in double digits in each of his first two EuroLeague games. He is a solid mid range play.

Part of the reason that Mike James isn’t as effective is the shooting of Darrun Hilliard. I like Hilliard as a value play, but he is mostly dependent on scoring. CSKA is giving him all the shots he can handle though, so Hilliard is still fairly low risk.

Thomas Walkup exploded last round after a poor round 1. However, I think we need to temper expectations. Milan’s backcourt is really limited right now. Everyone is scoring on them. If Walkup lights up Real Madrid, then we’ll talk.

Pierria Henry had a tough matchup last week and responded with a better round 2 total than round 1. Yes, the matchup with Fenerbahce is tough, but the price on Henry is still way too low. The volume and production are there.

Jaycee Carroll took nine shots, including seven three pointers, in just 16 minutes in his 2019-20 EuroLeague debut. He wont play a ton of minutes, but Real Madrid needed every bit of his bench scoring. So long as Carroll keeps shooting like this, he could put up some really good numbers while his price is this low.

Elijah Bryant is actually the second highest scoring guard for Tel Aviv despite being fifth in price. This is surprising on a team that has Tyler Dorsey and Nate Wolters. You wouldn’t think Bryant would see a whole lot of action, but he has produced so well than he has carved out even more of a role.