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DraftKings EuroLeague basketball picks December 18

By Mike Marteny

Alexey Shved, #1 of Khimki Moscow Region before the 2019/2020 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 8 match between Khimki Moscow Region and AX Armani Exchange Milan at Arena Mytishchi on November 14, 2019 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Mikhail Serbin/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images)
Alexey Shved, #1 of Khimki Moscow Region before the 2019/2020 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 8 match between Khimki Moscow Region and AX Armani Exchange Milan at Arena Mytishchi on November 14, 2019 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Mikhail Serbin/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images) /
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DraftKings EuroLeague
BELGRADE, SERBIA – NOVEMBER 28: Jordan Loyd of Valencia Basket in action during the Euroleague match between Crvena Zvezda Mts and Valencia Basket at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall on November 28, 2019 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images) /

DraftKings EuroLeague Guards:

As you might expect, guard is loaded at the top and some tough decisions must be made. Alexey Shved has at least 40 DraftKings points in four straight. There’s no reason to fade him. Both Mike James and Scottie Wilbekin both have had trouble in tough matchups and they have the toughest two on the slate. Nick Calathes isn’t worth the price either.

So that leaves Jordan Loyd and Pierria Henry among the five figure guys. Loyd and Shved can be done in a lineup, but does it need to be? Loyd is rolling lately, but Pierria Henry has a higher ceiling. I still really like Loyd for cash games, but he’s not necessary in GPP formats.

I make it a point not to use Wade Baldwin in tough matchups and to only use Kevin Pangos in good ones. Pangos gets CSKA today. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Kostas Sloukas has also been on a roll lately. Since there are so many options, most will avoid the tougher matchups. Someone in a tougher matchup is going to score like they normally do. Finding the bargains isn’t the key. Finding the guys who are matchup-proof is. Sloukas could be one of those guys.

Corey Walden has done well enough in the absence of Langston Hall that Red Star might go ahead a leave him in the lineup until he cools off. Walden isn’t price so high that this is too much of a risk yet. It’s worth a look in GPP formats.

Once again, this is another great matchup for the Valencia backcourt. Once again, there aren’t really any standouts in this group. Even Sam Van Rossom hit bottom in round 14. Instead of messing with that situation, I’m turning to Austin Hollins. This is a great matchup for the St. Petersburg guards. Someone from Valencia will go off, but only Hermannsson is consistent enough to rely on.

Luca Vildoza jumped right back into his role for Baskonia without missing a beat in round 14. He’s one of the most consistent low priced options you’ll find. Vildoza usually puts up solid numbers no matter the matchup.

It’s hard to rely on Billy Baron because he isn’t a consistent shooter, but he’s the type of guy that can score in bunches. He’s capable of breaking a slate at this price in either direction.

Vassilis Spanoulis isn’t the player he once was, but he’s still a strong player in short bursts. The only problem that that Piraeus doesn’t always continue to give him minutes if the normal rotation is going well. Spanoulis is a risk, but he’s usually worth it for this cheap.

Janis Strelnieks, Yovel Zoosman, and Matt Strazel are all coming off of lengthy absences and have performed well in limited minutes. Their prices are so low that we almost have to pay attention here. If any of them get up to around 20 minutes, they have significant upside here. Strelnieks seems to be the closest to that point right now.