We are looking ahead to the Euroleague Top 16 Round 4 which will bring us a lot of excitement and great basketball. There will be a lot of interesting games like the one in Krasnodar between Lokomotiv and Panathinaikos. Or the one in Vittoria between Laboral and CSKA. But one game above all others will be drawing interest from the European basketball fans. Of course, I’m talking about the El Classico. Real and Barcelona will be facing off in Madrid on Thursday and I got as much as three players from that game for you. It is a big game and I’m counting on the leaders of both teams to step up. Stay with us and find out which players to keep an eye on in one of the biggest rivalries on the planet.
Top 16 Round 4 Euroleague Fantasy Challenge tips – Ones to look for
Sergio Rodriguez: El Classico is scheduled for this week in the Euroleague and I expect El Chacho to be extra motivated and very inspired. Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez have been out for some time now and a lot of responsibilities have fallen on El Chaco’s back. He has the quality and the experience to lead this team in such a big game. A lot of people will probably be picking K.C. Rivers instead, but this is El Classico and I like to have big time players in big time games. Rivers or some other guys may be in good shape, but this is a game only for the big boys. I believe Rodriguez is one of them. 55 credits for El Chacho before such a game is a good price.
Nemanja Nedovic: An extremely optimistic pick, but at a very small price. I don’t see many good choices for the PG position this round, other than Rodriguez, so I’m going to take my chances with Nedovic. He will be playing his former team. Players often have extra motivation playing against their former teams. Especially in atmospheres like the one produced by “Delije” in Pionir hall. I’m pointing out that this is a risky pick because Nedovic has been getting little playing time lately. But I was thinking, if Unicaja should hit a wall at Pionir, Nedovic could turn out to be some kind of a joker for coach Plaza. If you are low on credits, you could try with Nedovic this round. He will only cost you 16.1 credits, but he has got the potential for much more.
Luka Babic: First of all I have to warn you that Babic has been playing better away from home than at home. His numbers were great away from home, while, at home, he was performing more than twice as worse. See for yourself if you don’t believe me. Cedevita is playing at home this week, but I’m willing to give it a go with Babic. This should be a high-paced game and I’m hoping to see some of his “all around” qualities. This crazy inversion of home-away efficiency should end sometime, right!?
Juan Carlos Navarro: “La Bomba” is finally starting to look like the player he once was. He was once known to be a nightmare for any defense as his crazy triples of one leg were pretty much undefendable. When he was not able to shoot or throw one of his “La Bomba” floaters, he was master of drawing fouls. Now, after struggling for about two years, Navarro is showing signs of getting back into his old shape. Not many players could say they have scored 11 points in the first quarter in Moscow against CSKA. Navarro did just that last week and I’m hoping he could continue in the same fashion in Madrid against Real this week. Real’s defense is much weaker than CSKA’s and Navarro should also have an extra motive against his fiercest of rivals. His price is rather small. I think you should give him a try.
Corry Higgins: I’ll keep on riding the “Corry train”, but only if Nando De Colo should be out again. So keep an eye on the latest injury updates once again (not just for De Colo). I’ve suggested Higgins last week too and it turned out to be a great choice. Higgins came out of De Colo’s shadow and unleashed all of his talents on Barcelona’s defense. He had a great game and I’m hoping he will keep on rolling in Vittoria. He has had the talent all along and now he has the opportunity to show it. I hope he does not let me down. This should also be a high paced game so there is a good chance we will see more than one great PIR. With that taught in mind, I’m going for another player from that game. This one from the hosting team.
Adam Hanga: CSKA plays physical and with great intensity. Those two attributes could also be used to describe Adam Hanga. The Hungarian should thrive in such a rhythm. If the game should indeed be a high paced one with a lot of rebounding opportunities, Hanga should feel at home. He has averaged 8 rebounds per game in these there top 16 games so far. I expect to see him in such a rebounding as well as in scoring mode on Thursday in Vittoria.
Ante Tomic: If you have the credits Tomic is definitely worth considering this round. Although his performances have not been so great lately, I expect him to bounce back against Real. He has been known to play pretty inspired in Madrid. He is a former player of Real who’s career skyrocketed the minute he signed with Barcelona. The crowd in Madrid does not like him and that fact often motivates him even more. Big guys are always a great option when they are playing against Real. Tomic is one of those that have been known to have a great game against Real’s interior defense.
Anthony Randolph: Probably the most underpriced player there is at the moment. His price is just 43.3 credits, but the way I see it he is among the top 3 PF’s in Europe right now. The reason his price is not much higher is the fact that he is coming off an injury. Based on what I’ve seen from him in the last two games, he looks to be fit and he is starting to show his high class once again. His amazing athleticism and good shooting skills make him one of the best and most attractive players to watch. I think you shouldn’t look past him for such a small price at the moment. Randolph all the way.
Miroslav Raduljica: PAO will be visiting Russia this week to face Lokomotiv Kuban. I see Raduljica as a mismatch for any player front court player on the Russian side. Lokomotiv have parted ways with their only true heavy center Krylyo Fesenko. They like to play a lot of “small ball”, so his departure is not such a big blow for them. They are also a physical team that likes to play aggressive defense with 5 players that are capable of switching on any player. All in all, they are one of the best defensive teams in the Euroleague. Why take a player that will be going against them, then? Because Radulljica is a heavy center with a lot of experience and I think he should be ready to take advantage from his size. If he should be getting close enough to the rim he could be doing a lot of damage down low. He has got the great PG that should recognize that kind of situations and feed him the ball a lot. In one on one situations the Serbian big man should be hard to stop for any Lokomotiv player, I hope he exploits it in the best possible way.
James Augustine: Augustine is having a great season, playing the best basketball of his career. He is coming off a monster game and I hope to see him rolling on. He does not have a proper replacement since Paul Davis got injured, so his minutes should stay between 25 and 30 minutes. The players that are coming off the bench instead of him are just not at his level while he is playing in amazing shape. With all due respect to Brose’s defense I just can’t ignore a player that looks as good as Augustine does at the moment. 66.1 credits are not too much for this player.