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By: Nick Gibson / @euro_adventures

Time to lay off Emir Preldzic everybody.  Acie Law, too. Own your mistakes, cut them and be done with it. Why? Because week two of the Euroleague Fantasy Challenge can turn a shitty season golden before you can say Hrvoje Peric, so you best make the most of it.

You have but three drops. Choose them wisely.

Pick ‘Em Up

Demond Mallet, PG, Spirou Charleroi
Price: 55.2   Average RKG: 26

Demond hung 27 on Real Madrid’s shaky defense last week, but this time he’s up against the same Efes defense that held Partizan’s Acie Law to a -6 RKG in week one. Good news: Mallet has been doing this a little bit longer than Law, so don’t let that discourage you. Any positive RKG ensures that he won’t lose you money, so get ready for a bump. The man never dipped beneath five in 10 Euroleague games last year.

Carlos Suarez, SG/SF, Real Madrid
Price: 59.8   Average RKG: 17.6

Novica Velickovic is out, and I’m sad. At least somebody benefits from our pain.

Giorgi Shermadini, PF/C, Bennet Cantu
Price: 29.9   Average RKG: 19.8

Nothing like earning Euros off of a guy with a negative ranking, huh? With Giorgi, you have that luxury: he could put up a -4 this week and still hop up over 31 in value. Cantu’s not in a position to ignore things that are working, so Shermadini should start to soak up even more minutes down low (just 14:26 against Sluc Nancy).

Cut ‘Em Loose

Aleksander Capin, PG, Union Olimpija
Price: 31.5 Average RKG: 2

Ben Woodside was just as awful against Barcelona (5 points and 2 assists for a ranking of two), but in this weekend’s Adriatic League affair Woodside played 34 minutes to Aleksander’s 18 and outscored Capin 19 to two.

After Capin’s opening week ranking of zero, he’ll need a score of 16 to avoid losing further value. Despite his fast start in the Adriatic, he’s not worth the risk, even at the low price.

Jamont Gordon, CSKA Moscow
Price: 66.3   Average RKG: -2

A year after absorbing the shots of his injured teammates, Jamont Gordon looks out of place. With the addition of stars like Kirilenko and Krstic and the emerging mustachery of Aleksey Shved, Gordon’s services really won’t be worth much this season. After the -2 he put up against Zalgiris, I’d be afraid to touch him at any price.

Joel Freeland, PF/C, Unicaja
Price: 72.3   Average RKG: 0

A big who’s as consistent as they come and is clearly his team’s best option inside throws out a week one stinker. This is your classic dump and wait scenario. Get him off your books for a week, maybe two, and then re-crunch the numbers and sign him in the high 50s or low 60s. He’ll reward you from there.

Ride ‘Em Out

Omar Cook, PG, Emporio Armani Milano
Price: 53.6   Average RKG: 8.8

He’s been Slam’s team captain for three seasons running, so I thought I’d give my colleague a reason to smile after his 73.3 point week one (gross, right?). But besides being Slam’s man crush, Omar’s also the beneficiary of fantasy’s most valuable commodity: the absence of positional competition. A capable backup, Jacopo Giachetti’s far from starter material and won’t pose a threat to Slam’s man, Omar. Pencil him in for 26-30 minutes and a ranking close to 18, a number he needs to hit to keep his price tag from dropping.

Fernando San Emeterio, SG/SF, Caja Laboral
Price: 68   Average RKG: 7.7

You know he’s better than the 7.7 he gave us last week. If you must, sell him now then pick him back up once mathematics are done hacking away at his worth.

Aleks Maric, PF/C, Panathinaikos
Price: 57   Average RKG: 13.2

Aleks’ 2010 season with Partizan was enough to land him among the all-time Fantasy Gods, so after a rough, injury plagued 2011 with Panathinaikos, it’s time for us to show our support for the big Boomer. Mike Batiste is hurt and Obradovic, though fickle, appreciates gritty talent. If Aleks gets the 20 minutes he got in week one, I’ll bet he’s good for 18-20 in the rank-o-meter.

Maybe Next Week

Ben Woodside, PG, Union Olimpija
Price: 40.8   Average RKG: 2

Union Olimpija wants Ben to rip that starting role away from Capin and guard it with his life, and he’s on his way. But this week he’s up against Montepaschi Siena, plus he needs to get that 2 RKG out of his system before he won’t hurt your team’s worth. Wait for him to stabilize in the mid 30’s, then snag him.

Keith Langford, SG/SF, Maccabi Tel Aviv
Price: 63   Average RKG: N/A (Just signed this week)

Keith led the Euroleague in regular season scoring last season with BC Khimki and was tops in RKG’s oft-forgotten category, fouls drawn, with 7.7 per game. But I’d hold those horses for just a second. He’s still the new guy and it could take him and David Blatt a few practices to get on the same page. To validate a 63, Keith would need to get a 15.75 or better (63/4=15.75. Math, everybody.) It’s not impossible, but if he gets a DNP and a goose egg, it could set you back to 53.5.

David Andersen, PF/C, Montepaschi Siena
Price: 66.3   Average RKG: 66.3

David does what David does: knock down J’s, space the floor and grab boards on defense. I’m not worried about the re-transition (if that’s a thing) after a couple years in America, but when you’re spending close to 70 on a dude, you should be able to count on him for an easy 15+ with a sprinkling of 20s. David’s not that guy right now.

******
Freaknick+Paulius=Forever

Now a look at how I’m handling my team, which put up 126 last week and is currently ranked 10th out of 38 teams in Twitter Airlines Euroleague, a league of bloggery-type folks and active Euroleague Tweeters. The players I added have an asterisk (*) next to their names.

My Drops: Aleksander Capin (told you), Julius Jenkins, Gasper Vidmar

*DeJuan Collins, Zalgiris: I don’t expect another 26 out of the aging chucker, just five more dollars to play with by week’s end. Plus, I had to make room for AK15. If he can get me double digits I’ll be ecstatic.

Jerel Blassingame, Asseco Prokom: The shifty little guard played 26 minutes last week and was the best looking replacement for Collins, who @LithuaniaBasket tells us won’t be playing due to a “knock to his shin.”

Aleksey Shved, CSKA Moscow: In the ‘stache we trust.

Sasha Vujacic, Anadolu Efes: He’ll get his shots up. That’s what I look for.

Nicolas Batum, Sluc Nancy: Why sell the man who is the team?

*Mindaugas Kuzminskas, Zalgiris: The man dropped 30 in the LKL this weekend and didn’t look too shabby in seven minutes against CSKA. Maybe I’ll just send in an application to coach the team and play him myself.

Tremmell Darden, Unicaja: Tremmell and I are kind of in a fight. If he gives me mid-teens this week we might return to speaking terms.

*Andrei Kirilenko, CSKA Moscow: I had to try out several combinations to make this work, but he could go rank-less this week and still watch his price soar 13 points.

Nedzad Sinanovic, Unicaja: The man puts up numbers when he gets minutes, and Luka Zoric looked out of sorts last week in the post.

Damir Markota, Union Olimpija: I really think this is the year Damir remembers why scouts used to adore him.

Akin Akingbala, Sluc Nancy: He goes hard in the paint.

Freaknick’s Fantasy Factory will run every single week until the Top 16’s over and done with. Comment below with questions, comments, and to let us know which ten guys you’re going with this week.