Βy Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
In the Top16 marathon with continuous battles between strong teams, it’s hard to predict who and when will start to play better than usual. It’s not a safe method to pick players just by judging their opposing team, but you should predict their performance according to their specific match ups and the condition of their teammates.
Eurohoopsnet team had a score with 115,4 points in a “bad” week and there a lot of players who are in the exit door. The first player who had to go was Pops Mensah-Bonsu who is not undervalued anymore and he’s not in good shape. The second one is Joffrey Lauvergne who is doubtful for the game against Lokomotiv. But who would be the last one? We had a big headache between Dragic, Kinsey, Nocioni and Hendrix and we eventually decided to sell Kinsey due to his instability. We have 183,2 credits available and our first choice is Alex Tyus. James is out and the American-Israeli center will play a lot, so he has the chance to continue his great games in the Top 16. He costs only 33 credits and he can raise his value week by week like Krstic does since the start of the Top 16.
Next to him, we will bet on one more big guy in good shape. He’s Zoran Erceg. A stretch four in the fantasy league is always a danger because he should score consistently in order to cover his weakness in rebounding. Wrong! Erceg is a good rebounder (5,8 pg) while shooting 80% in 2ps and 36% in 3ps. Our cheap choices lead us to make the best possible move among the players in the perimeter. The chosen one is Rudy Fernandez because he’s too cheap for his real value and has a home game against a team which allows the run ‘n gun game.
Enjoy fantasy!
Points Guards
Sergio Rodriguez 74,9 credits (+0,1)
In every single game in the Top 16 he’s excellent, offering a ranking around 20. Maccabi’s guards can’t prevent him from one more big score.
Dimitris Diamantidis 66,3 credits (-0,5)
The game vs Barcelona is too dangerous for Panathinaikos but Diamantidis doesn’t care. He can shine again thanks to his assists (9,3 per game in the Top 16!) and his low number of shots.
Shooting Guards/Small Forwards
Rudy Fernandez 76,4 credits
He had a zero against CSKA but he can bounce back easily vs Maccabi. The Israelis aren’t so famous for their tough defense so he can have a big ranking.
Andres Nocioni 75,2 credits (-3,1)
He’s in good shape and in the crucial home game vs Efes he can lead his team to the victory. A 15+ ranking is something more than welcome from the Argentinian.
Vassilis Spanoulis 75,2 credits (+0,3)
In Vitoria Olympiacos seemed to recover and its captain was excellent. In the home game against Unicaja, Spanoulis can lead again his teammates.
Zoran Dragic 55,4 (-5,8)
He had a bad game last week vs Barcelona but in SEF he will be the only reliable solution in the perimeter due to Calloway’s injury. He can make some damage to Olympiacos defense.
Power Forwards/Centers
Richard Hendrix 61,3 credits (0)
He was out last week but this time he can make it in Hala Pionir against Partizan. The Serbian team is the second worst in the Top 16 in rebounds allowed to the opponent and fifth worst in 2p%. So, Hendrix will have space to act.
Zoran Erceg 57,4 credits
The Serbian power forward is reborn in Istanbul and without any doubt he should have one more big score vs Zalgiris.
Nenad Krstic 44,3 credits (+5,8)
He has the best ranking per game in the Top 16 (21,75). How can he be out of the team as soon as he raised his value for more than 11 credits during the last three weeks.
Alex Tyus 33 credits
He’s the new underdog. James is out, Sofo is in and out and of course he will play a lot of minutes. The game in Madrid is the hardest possible but he can survive. He has 90% (18/20) 2ps and 7,3 rbg in the Top 16. Not so bad…