After a very profitable week 5, we are looking forward to week 6 of the Euroleague top 16 phase. stay with us and find out what 10 players we will be aiming for this week.
We are pleased to say that we had two top performers of round 5 in our article last week. We had Tyreese Rice who went crazy in Moscow and inked a double-double against Zalgiris and made himself the MVP of round 5. We also had Alex Abrines who’s brilliant fourth quarter brought Barcelona to life and gave them the chance to fight in the overtime. Abrines ended up being the second in line for the MVP honors along with Nando De Colo but even that did not help Barcelona fight off Laboral Kutxa in Blaugrana.
Top 16 Round 6 Euroleague basketball
This week we will be focusing on 5 games from which we will be drawing our picks. There are also going to be two players on the list whom we already recommended last week. One of them is getting a second chance after a he has failed in the last round while the other one earned our trust with his great performance last week. Stick and stay with us to find out who are those two guys as well as who are the remaining 8 chosen ones.
Sergio Rodriguez
“El Chacho” is back on my list once again. I like him better in high paced games rather than in slow ones. I’ve reached for him against Barcelona two rounds ago, but I did not like him last round against Olympiacos. Now, in front of a game against a team like Laboral that likes an up-tempo game, I like Sergio once more. Real’s players convert his assists into points much easier in that kind of games. Also, he himself can find the way to score much easier. I expect to see a competitive game until the very end in Madrid this week and I also expect to see “El Chacho” producing.
Nick Chalates
Dimitris Diamantidis is currently injured, so Nick Chalates has been given full authority over the Greek powerhouse from Athens. It may seem too much to take two players for PAO since they have been struggling lately, but I think both Chalates and Gist should be very good choices for this week. This is a very important games for the “Greens” and their coach, because their performances have not been satisfying so far. They are on full alert and I expect them to be fully focused on this game. Chalates has got a lot of experience and I think he should use it to draw a lot of fouls and dish out a lot of assists in Zagreb this week. He is now the floor general for PAO and I expect him to act accordingly.
Luigi Datome
Datome likes big games and I like Datome. He is in very good shape at the moment and his numbers are growing constantly. The game is important and it is a derby that should also be high paced. There is no reason why you should not add Datome this round.
Alex Abrines
These next two guys I already recommended in my last article, but I’m sticking with both of them although one of them was great with a PIR of 28 while the other was a total bust with only 3. The one that was a success is, of course, Abrines. He had 28 PIR which made him the runner-up along with De Colo in the MVP of the week
contest. As I already said last week he looks to be in great shape and I consider him as one of the best buys at the moment, because of his price of only 28.8 credits. Let’s hope his PIR would top his price once again.
Vasilis Spanoulis
If you had him these last couple of games, you are probably dying to get rid of him immediately, but I would advise waiting for at least this round. Yes, I had him in Madrid and he disappointed me too, but I’m willing to give him one more chance. The biggest reason why I’m keeping him is the game against Panathinaikos in which he played very good. I don’t think he is in such a bad shape as you could conclude from his numbers lately. Khimki will be coming to Peace and Friendship hall this week and I’m hoping that it is a big enough game for Spanoulis to go crazy. He has shown in the fore mentioned the game against PAO that a combination of an inspiring rival and weak defense could result in Spanoulis’ big game. Khimki is a big enough team and the game is important enough to keep Kill Bill on your team for one more round. Especially for such a small price.
Dzanan Musa
The fact is that Luka Babic got injured and he is not expected to play against Panathinaikos this week. Babic got injured in Istanbul against Fenerbahce last round, so young Musa already got extended minutes in the ABA league this weekend. He played 22 minutes, scored 14 points and had a PIR of 18. Not bad for a sixteen-year-old. Yea you heard it, he is only sixteen years old, but his looks very mature on the court. If you are thinking he only got some kind of a trash time against Mega Lex, you couldn’t be more wrong.
The game was very close and I can safely say that Cedevita looked much better with the young Bosnian on the court than with Pilepic for example. Panathinaikos is, of course, a much stronger and more experienced team and I don’t expect Musa to such a high PIR once again, but if you are short on credits, Musa could be the guy you are looking to complete your roster. Musa looks to be very brave and he plays with a lot of intensity and I think he could develop into a great all-round player. Musa will cost you only 8.8 credits and he could be the guy you are looking for to wrap up your team. Dzanan is a star in the making, so if are a Euroleague fantasy team manager with an eye for talent, you should give Musa chance to impress you.
Jan Vesely
Big man have been doing a lot of damage to Efes this year and I don’t see that changing this round. Vesely has been on fire lately likewise the whole Fenerbahce team. He has also been honoured as the MVP for January and it seems only logical to put him on my list. This is the big game, but it should also be a high paced one which is always a good thing. I think there will be more than enough space under Efes’ rims for Vesely to build up a nice stat sheet
Derrick Brown
He is probably one of the hottest players in Europe at the moment. He has been on fire ever since Efes visited Brown’s former team in Krasnodar. He is also getting more playing time then Dario Saric lately. There is the big game in Istanbul this week and I expect Brown to continue producing for Efes. 58.3 is not too much for Brown this week.
Othello Hunter
Last week I’ve picked up the other Olympiacos center Nikola Milutinov for a very small price and it turned out to be the solid choice as he had 7 PIR for just 14 credits. Othello Hunter also played well last week against Real and I think both of them could have a very good game this week too. Both of them could turn out to be very good choices for this round, but this time, I’m going for Hunter. He too is not that expensive for just 40.8 credits. Khimki’s paint, much like Real’s is not exactly a fortress so I’m expecting a lot of rebounds and points from Olympiacos’ big man.
James Gist
He has not been performing at his level lately, but I see very big chance for him to have a great game in Zagreb. He is way too athletic and powerful for any of Cedevita’s players that could be occupying the PF position. there are 3 possible defenders that could match with him on Thursday.
- Marko Arapovic: He is way too young and inexperienced to contain a player of Gist’s calibre and experience.
- Karlo Zganec. He has mostly been coming off the bench to rest Miro Bilan since Luka Zoric got injured. He is a tough guy and a good defender, but Gist is much quicker, athletic and he should also use his skills to create a lot of open looks against Zganec.
- Henry Walker. he is a guy that has the necessary athleticism to keep up with Gist, but he lacks size, as his real position should be SF. Every time Gist manages to get close to the rim Walker should be in big trouble. Cedevita’s rotation has been shortened even more by the injury of versatile SF-SG Luka Babic, so it will be even tougher to contain Gist. I see Gist as major advantage for the “Greens” and I’m counting on coach Djordevic to use him accordingly