After a close examination of all the players offered in the Fantasy Challenge, while keeping in mind the strategy proposed in my initial post, I finally decided on which players I am going to base my teams on.
Of course, even if everything points to a certain direction (good performance), nothing guarantees that it will actually come true, so please don't come after me if you decide to follow my advice (hehe).
You will be able to see the numbers needed by all players to gain or drop the max and remain idle at hoopsstats.com here , just before the fantasy challenge tips off.
Let's go through some of the players that are standing out:
Fernando San Emeterio (SG-SF, 23 credits): The 25-year old Spaniard seems to be in excellent condition, taking full advantage of the absence of sidelined Walter Herrmann and Brad Oleson. He is the current leader of Caja Laboral in the ACB alongside Tiago Splitter. Averaging 17 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2 assists in full 35 minutes per game for an average index rating of 21.3 makes him an excellent choice for the SG-SF position at mere 23 credits. Possible drawbacks? Caja Laboral plays a tough away game against Lottomatica Roma(eventhough they seem to be in good shape, so a win is not to rule out), while it is also questionable what will happen when both Herrmann and Oleson return. You may also want to keep in mind that San Emeterio can gain only 3.45 credits the first week and he needs 6.6 IRP to do so.
Ali Traore (PF-C, 40 credits): Ali Traore of ASVEL is seeing about 20 minutes of playtime in the French League so far, doing surprisingly well as in three games he averages an index of 16 (22, 15 and 11). Last season, he competed in the Eurocup with ASVEL averaging 12.5 points and 5.2 rebounds for an index rating of 12.8 in six games. ASVEL is facing Zalgiris, in Lithuania, the away game being a drawback, but the Lithuanian club is not exactly a powerhouse that will destroy his performance. Other possible drawbacks: He is the third option of his team at center position, behind Curtis Borchardt and Eric Campbell. He needs 10 IRP to remain idle and 11.5 to gain the max.
Morris Finley (PG, 48 credits): Morris Finley moved form Siena to Milano and seems that he has found the room to shine as he is the go-to guy of the club in the first two games of the Italian League. He averages 29.5 minutes on court and an index rating of 26.5 so far (34, 19). He needs 14 IRP to gain the max, but here comes the deal-breaker: AJ Milano plays Panathinaikos at home!!
Marko Tomas (SG-SF, 44 credits): Marko Tomas could not find any space in Real the previous years. In Cibona on the other hand, he enjoys more minutes than any other, namely 32.25, making him obviously one of the team's leaders. In three games he averages an index rating of 13.3 (2, 22, 16), behind 15.7ppg while his abilities are unquestionable. The 24-year old needs 11 IRP to stay idle and 12.65 to gain the max. Cibona however hosts Montepaschi Siena, who seem to be in great shape, in the first game and Tomas will likely be guarded by one of the best defenders of the Euroleague, Romain Sato.
Martynas Pocius (SG-SF, 9 credits): Why on earth buy a player for 9 credits you may ask, and rightfully so. The truth is that Pocius is a big questionmark. Unknown to the European public, he pulls off some very good performances in both the (weak) Lithuanian League and the (weak) Baltic League. In 8 games he sees solid 23 minutes on court for an average of 15.9 IRP (24, 8, 27, 14, 13, 13, 14, 14). If you need a player to close your roster, but have very few credits left, Pocius could be a nice pick, even if nobody knows how he is going to be utilized in Euroleague games.
Joel Freeland (PF-C, 47 credits): Freeland comes from an excellent season in the ACB which also earned him the transfer to Unicaja. He is the second option at the center position behind Robert Archibald, who comes from injury and played just 12 minutes with a mask this weekend. Freeland found the space and time (26mpg) he needed in the first three games of the ACB amassing 13.3 IRP per game (16, 5, 19). At 47 credits he needs to score 13.5 IRP to gain the max. Unicaja is facing inexperienced Partizan in Belgrade.
Aleks Maric (PF-C, 40 credits): Aleks Maric surprised everybody in the American Tour of Partizan as he downed 20 rebounds in the first game. Well he actually continues being a solid rebounder and scorer. In the two games of the Adriatic League he averages 19.6 minutes (12, 27) and 16.5 IRP (1, 32). He will probably be the go-to guy in Partizan's paint as he is more experienced than Jan Vesely and Zarko Rakocevic. Partizan will be hosting Unicaja in the first game. The Spanish club is of course a very solid opponent, but in no case are they a powerhouse, they seem to be in bad shape (0-3 in the ACB) and do not possess the strongest frontcourt. At 40 credits he needs 11.5 to gain the max.
More to come later. Note that these are players that will allow you to buy some more expensive ones that you trust.
You can now start joining our private leagues! The first and main league is named "TalkBasket" and the password is: euroleague
You can enter as many as three of your teams in this league but after the end of Week 3 only your best team will be kept and the rest will be removed. The two winners of this league will win a special prize by TalkBasket.net, a Euroleague t-shirt and scarf.
You can also enter our 2nd league named "talkbasket.net" (password: tbleague) with unlimited teams.
