Fantasy tips: Options on a budget

Another week, another opportunity to win in the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge. Here are some recommendations that could make you the Round 30 winner.

All the teams can see the light at the end of the tunnel and no one is giving up on the playoff race. Just last week, the bottom-ranked team, Zalgiris Kaunas, beat the leader, FC Barcelona. Only one team won on the road, Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz, which edged LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne 69-72 at the Astroballe. Baskonia, Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade and ALBA Berlin have been red hot lately, making the fight to reach the playoffs better and better.

There are some restrictions this week, too. Three teams - Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, AS Monaco and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul - are not playing in this round and their players are getting their average scores. FC Bayern Munich's makeup game on Tuesday was postponed and it is yet to be seen if its road showdown against AX Armani Exchange Milan will take place or not. Make no mistake, even if the options seem limited, there are plenty of solid choices in the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge.

We have five recommendations for you this week and none of them are particularly expensive. Among them, you will find a big man looking to replicate a great game against the same opponent, a former EuroLeague MVP who has found his groove, a small forward who comes off a monster game, a combo guard at the prime of his career and a super scorer going against his former team. Keep in mind that there are unlimited trades each round until the end of the season.

Here are our recommendations for Round 30:

Ognjen Kuzmic, Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade (8.1 credits) - Kuzmic played really well against his team's next opponent, Barcelona, earlier this season, grabbing 14 rebounds and getting a PIR of 10. He also had a solid contribution against Maccabi last week with 8 points and 8 rebounds for a PIR of 12. Zvezda needs his size and experience.

Sergio Llull, Real Madrid (6.7 credits) - The 2016-17 EuroLeague MVP, Llull underwent a severe knee injury but is healthy again and playing good basketball. He's had 20 points and a PIR of 14 in each of Real's last two games. With Nigel Williams-Goss doubtful with a hand problem, Llull is the man.

Edgaras Ulanovas, Zalgiris Kaunas (8.5 credits) - Ulanovas was all over the place against Barcelona in Round 29, finishing the game with 16 points, 9 rebounds, a career-high 6 steals, 2 blocks and 9 fouls drawn for a PIR of 33. In Round 28, Ulanovas was held scoreless and still got a PIR of 8. When it comes to Fantasy Challenge, what's not to like?

Maodo Lo, ALBA Berlin (11.2 credits) - Lo comes off a career-best performance against Olympiacos that earned him Round 29 MVP honors. He had 27 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for a personal-best PIR of 34. His team has great rhythm now and is ready to keep running its offense through him. All for less than 12 credits. Buy him now!

Simone Fontecchio, Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz (10.1 credits) - Three different Baskonia players have been with ALBA in the past - Fontecchio, Rokas Giedraitis and Jayson Granger. We recommend Fontechhio because he already played great in a road victory against ALBA in Round 4 with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a PIR of 18.