By Dimitris Minaretzis/ info@eurohoops.net
We are entering a complicated double-game week of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season with teams battling for position. Who will we pick up for such a demanding stretch of games? Thomas Walkup of Olympiacos.
Walkup, 29, is more of an unconventional player in terms of Fantasy.
He will not score in bunches to boost his Fantasy points but carries out so much more on the court. Some of his contributions are not displayed on the boxscore and this does not help in Fantasy. He is effective defensively, helps teammates, and facilitates plays. But all that will not pile up Fantasy points.
However, Walkup has been brilliant this season and this spills into his individual stats.
Producing a PIR of 18 or more has been the case in four of his eight showings so far, capped by the season-high PIR of 24 against FC Bayern Munich on the road in last week’s Round 8. Against Zalgiris, he drew up 20. And had 21 versus Cazoo Baskonia.
With a demanding challenge opposite Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv coming up Tuesday, Walkup is a likely candidate for extended playing minutes. He will be a big part of the attempt to contain Lorenzo Brown and Wade Baldwin IV posing a threat to the Reds from the wing.
Fouls can be a potential setback. But Walkup is tagged at 10.0 units. The price makes us comfortable with the risk.
Trusting our picks
Johnathan Motley struggled last week made us struggle as well, but we are confident he will bounce back to usual standards soon. It is not like he will be dealing with four trouble every game, nor will he be limited to 12-13 minutes. So, we kept the Fenerbahce Beko center.
Of course, we retained our captain Sasha Vezenkov as well. In the previous round, he produced 94.6 Fantasy points! In a useful reminder, Vezenkov was our first suggestion. Fantasy players following our tips have enjoyed a massive return.
Similarly, we were in favor of picking up Dwayne Bacon and Nicolas Laprovittola over the last couple of weeks and both delivered.
Our team heading to Round 9
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