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Signed: AN & Mid-range Maven

     Another wildcard ahead of round 23 where players have unlimited changes to their rosters. This is an opportune moment to review your roster and pick your players based on updated data throughout all positions and price levels. Round 23 is divided in three turns with only one game however in T1, so probably best to be treating T1 & T2 as a single combined turn, while leaving some room for improvements & fallback T3 picks. This should offer additional flexibility when it comes to picking your squad. Some interesting options emerge with couple of players on a discounted price and others seemingly ready for break-out performances over the short future. Let's dive in!

Overview

1. Sasa Vezenkov will remain a cornerstone player for us as his FPT/game seems rarely phased by any opponent or conditions.  He will also be our primary last resort option for captain in T3, should our T1 and T2 choices falter. 

2. In a shocking way Kendrik Nun's performances over the double-game week cost him a total of 1.5 credits lowering his price to 15.5. We could still keep him as a discounted premium option and in order to get some of the lost credits back, as Panathinaikos finds themselves in a must win situation against a tough Zalgiris team, having lost both games in Spain last week, but we will probably use the credits a bit differently

3. We are also focusing on couple of players on the lower cost tier that seem to be hitting consistently much higher scores as of late compared to their credit value. 

For T1 & 2 we are also selecting:

1. Tyrique Jones (14.6 credits) as another pick that can guarantee solid points and seems to be establishing himself as a consistent performer. We will also name him captain against Paris who does not have a notable center and against which venters tend to achieve high numbers. Additionally naming him as captain is a risk-free choice given the fallback options we can have on subsequent turns

2. Sterling Brown (11.8 credits) who is getting more usage, is on a 4-game streak of 20+ FPTs and is a bargain at his current credit value. He is also playing on T1, an extra added value for picking him

3. Matt Strazel (7.5 credits) who has found an increased role & minutes under coach Spanoulis, even after the latest return of Nick Calathes and is still quite low-cost option compared to his minutes

4. Filip Petrusev (11.7 credits) who seems to be returning to his pick form and is also starting to co-exist more and more on the court with -another really good option- Joel Bolomboy (12.8)  while also alternating on the 5 spot

5. Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot (8.1 credits). Here we will be taking a calculated risk as the Frenchman is having some great games as of late while being  low-cost option compared to his minutes, especially with the continued absence of Tadas Sedekerskis

6. Cedi Osman (9.3 credits) who is becoming a more important fugure in the Panathinaikos squad, is on a 4-game double-digit streak and is  also a relatively low-cost option compared to his minutes

7. Wenyen Gabriel (10.6 credits). The replacement of Matthias Lessort is expected to get an even more increased role following Ömer Yurtseven's injury (out for more than a month) on the domestic Greek derby of last Monday. Even though he is not the cheapest of options, its is probably a really good moment to to get him in your team as Dinos Mitoglou's status (currently injured) is still uncertain and Kostas Antentokoumpo who is also injured basically leave the South Sudanese center as the only clear cut option in the Panathinaikos frontline. Mitoglou (6.7 credits) will eventually also shoulder some minutes also at the 5 spot and is indeed a good cheep alternative maybe worth risking for, but his lack of good form this season is a worry

For T3  we are picking:

1. Nick Weiler Babb (10.6 credits) who is a player than though not super consistent in terms of FPT, is shouldering heavy minutes with an increased role and is expected to have a relatively easy night against the weakest team of the competition in Alba Berlin

2. Martin Hermmansson (8.7 credits). Though the Icelandic PG's has not hit the highs he did during the first part of the season this is in part due to the fact he missed several games to injury. Now being fully fit he is expected to re-establish himself as one of the best players of his team and best guard, playing with no real pressure for Alba Berlin who is not chasing anything in the competition

In order to stay on top of any last minute roster & team news/absences, we are using the ROTOWIRE page and their fantasy section for Euroleague basketball here. While there are probably also other resources on this, ROTOWIRE consistently provides any latest updates even with just a couple of minutes remaining before tip-off! So keep an eye and cut your losses short. 

Coach selection:

For our coaching choice we will go with coach Gordon Herbert (4.7 credits) as Bayern is facing the weakest team of the competition in Alba Berlin and find themselves in a must win situation after last week's upset against Virtus in Munich. Bayern is entering a sequence of fixtures where should they hit come back in their previous form, we could consider maintaining the Canadian as our coach .

Player selection alternatives :

1. Devin BOOKER (14.5 credits). Booker is not a surprise as he is already considered as one of the most reliable fantasy centers of this year euroleague. However, the next opponents of Bayern Munich are not efficient in defending in the center position so maybe Booker is a wise long-term choice.

2. Shane LARKIN (14.3 credits). It is true that in this year fantasy tournament there are plenty of guard options. However, we believe that Larkin will start performing to his standards. Efes needs desperately the win, and its leader has to step up to the challenge.

3. Special attention needs to be given to the Armani injury crisis as Leday and Mirotic are expected to miss several games on top of Niebo's prolonged guaranteed absence. This could see players like Caruso (4 credits) and Gillespie (6.6 credits) see increased role and minutes and given their very low price they are probably worth looking at. 

!!! Wildcard Round !!!