It is a double-round week in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and because of the number of suspended games due to COVID-19, decisions should be more important than ever for EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge managers. Remember, those players from teams whose games are postponed in any round will get their average score. That makes strategizing different than normal. You can play it safe, knowing which players should get certain points, or go all-in and buy players whose teams will be on the court. Four games are left in Round 20: Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul vs. Olympiacos Piraeus, FC Bayern Munich vs. Zalgiris Kaunas, FC Barcelona vs. AX Armani Exchange Milan and Panathinaikos OPAP Athens vs. CSKA Moscow.
No games were played in Round 19, which will not count in the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge results or standings. Even if games are played in the same week in the near future, Round 19 is now out of the picture for good. Remember, that if at least one game is played as originally scheduled in any round, all players are eligible in Fantasy Challenge, including those from postponed games, even when they are injured. Once again, those players will receive their average Fantasy score in the season to date at the end of the round in question.
As always, there is something for everyone in this week’s Fantasy Challenge recommendations: a star big man with a bigger role, a dominant center ready to do what he does best, a guard taking advantage of extended playing time, another big man whose productivity is on the way up, and everyone’s Fantasy Challenge favorite – an experienced player going against one of his former teams.
Here are our recommendations for Round 20.
Achille Polonara, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul (11.3 credits) – Nando De Colo and Jan Vesely are set to be sidelined for several weeks, even when Fenerbahce has not played since they went down. Without its two superstars, Fenerbahce needs other stars to lead the team from now on. Polonara and DyShawn Pierre (10.2 credits) have new roles and should be ready to make the most of of their extended playing time.
Nikola Milutinov, CSKA Moscow (13.7 credits) – Milutinov needed some time to excel again and should be ready to be the dominant center he really is, rebounding at both ends and scoring with great effectiveness. A longtime Olympiacos player, Milutinov should have extra motivation when CSKA faces Panathinaikos and should see extended playing time to guard Georgios Papagiannis.
Jerian Grant, AX Armani Exchange Milan (6.0 credits) – Grant has been off-target in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, averaging 1.8 points on 13.3% three-point shooting until now. Why recommend him, then? He did great in the Italian League lately, averaging a PIR of 21.5 in his team’s last two games. If Malcolm Delaney remains sidelined, expect him to keep playing a lot – and to do well.
Sertac Sanli, FC Barcelona (8.2 credits) – Barcelona has been without Brandon Davies lately, and Sanli is the type of player who can get a high PIR with extended playing time. This weekend, Sanli had 16 points in 25 minutes in Spanish League action. Watch out! James Nnaji (4.0 credits) started in that game and had a PIR of 19. Sanli, however, should be Barcelona’s first choice at center.
Augustine Rubit, FC Bayern Munich (9.3 credits) – It is always special to go against a former team and Augustine Rubit knows everything about it: Bayern is his fourth squad in the competition. Earlier this season, Rubit had a PIR of 13 against Zalgiris. Bayern plays at home now and Rubit should be ready to go against some of his former teammates in Kaunas last season.
