NBA Fever $30k Thursday Best Buys
A huge NBA Fever $30k Thursday contest awaits us, with 10 games on the slate. With superstars, mid-pricers and cash cows aplenty, who will make the cut for your Draftstars lineup?
Here is a team you may consider for the NBA $30k+ Thursday competition
Point Guard
Goran Dragic ($13,300)
Recent form and opposition weaknesses is the main motive for picking Dragic as your starting point guard, as he’s beginning to turn in performances akin to his peak years in Phoenix; with averages of 21.5 points to go along with 6.5 assists and nearly 3 three balls at an uber-efficient 51.5% in the last week. Up against an Indiana squad ranked in the bottom third in defensive efficiency and matched up against an offensively-focused guard in Jeff Teague, look for Dragic to push the ball in transition and get easy looks against the slow, ageing Pacers.
Patty Mills ($7,950)
G’DAY MATE! It’s certainly hard to overlook our man Patty Mills when he has been in some pretty solid form across the past few games. Evidently, all season Mills has been the beneficiary of extra minutes at the point-guard spot due to a drop in output from starting guard Tony Parker. Across the past three games, Mills has been averaging 15.6 points per game from a healthy 22 minutes of action, additionally chipping in with 3.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game. At a touch under $8,000, Mills is a good option for your second point-guard spot based on his recent form. Keep in mind last time the Spurs played Boston a couple weeks ago, Mills dropped 19 points in 24 minutes of court time, while shooting a healthy 75% from the field.
Shooting Guard
Lou Williams ($12,150)
To say Lou Williams has been outstanding over the past week is an understatement. The fact that he performed so well for us in our Thursday $30k+ competition last week means that he unquestionably warranted another selection this week. Since his 40-point outing against Memphis just over a week ago, Williams has continued to step-up in the absence of young Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell. Over the past four games he seen an average of 30 minutes court time per game while putting up 30.3 points (at 51% field-goal efficiency), 4.5 boards, 3.5 assists and 1.8 steals per outing. If those numbers alone aren’t enough to convince you to pick Williams for your Thursday team then I don’t know what is! Expect him to run the Brooklyn guards ragged to create his own shot and get plenty of wide-open shots off, off-ball screens.
Bojan Bogdanovic ($6,700)
Bojan has had to do a lot of the heavy lifting for the depleted Nets this season, with his field goal attempts rising from 9.5 to 11.4 and his usage rate bumped up into the 20s for the first time in his career. This increased opportunity has been seen in his counting stats as well, with a career high 15.4 ppg at a healthy 46% clip. Throughout the last week he’s been even more impressive, averaging 19 points on 52.6% from the field. At only $6,700, Bojan is a steal for your fantasy team due to his recent hot form and strength of opposition, as the Lakers are giving up 115 points per game over their recent six-game losing skid. Expect Bojan to continue his run of form on Thursday with volume shooting on solid percentages.
Small Forward
Gordon Hayward ($14,050)
Since returning from injury, Hayward has more than lived up to the expectations placed upon him at the start of the season, averaging a career high 23.3 points to go along with over 6 boards and almost 4 assists. With key members of the Jazz still sidelined with injuries, Hayward will be expected to do most of the heavy lifting against a Thunder team on the end of a back-to-back; good news for fantasy owners as he will have more opportunities to pick up stats against a tired lineup.
Wesley Matthews ($9,300)
Ever since Deron Williams returned from injury, Matthews has begun to play the brand of basketball we’ve come to expect from the eight-year pro. In the last week he’s averaging 21.5 points on 4.5 makes from downtown, in no small part due to the spacing that Deron Williams creates with his dribble penetration. As Wes is spending nearly double the amount of time at the 2 guard spot than he did last season, expect him to have a noticeable size advantage over Caldwell-Pope, which will enable him to get cleaner looks on his shots as he can rise over the top of his smaller opponent.
Power Forward
Ersan Ilyasova ($8,300)
Ilyasova has been on fire as of late, averaging around 20 points and 10 rebounds throughout the past week on a depleted Sixers roster. Although this roster is lopsided with talented bigs, Ilyasova’s three-point shooting prowess give the Sixers a valuable weapon that they can strut out against big lineups to combat defences clogging the lane. The Raptors are no different, as Ilyasova will naturally receive plenty of catch and shoot opportunities if he plays spot minutes at the 5 (which he has been), forcing Valanciunas to run him off the three–point line. At just over $8,000, Ilyasova is plenty of value as his high usage rate and fit within the current Sixers roster has proven to turn Ersan from a role player into someone they can lean on to get a quality shot when they need one.
Al Horford ($13,200)
The Boston Celtics currently sit in sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, largely as a result of Al Horford’s performances. Since swapping an Atlanta jersey for a Boston one, Horford has been putting up incredible numbers despite the Celtics’ inconsistencies so far this season. Especially over the past seven games Horford has been stuffing the stats sheet – going at an average of 16.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.9 treys per game. Given Horford’s ability to gather his fantasy points from multiple statistical avenues he’s a comfortable selection for your first power forward spot. Also expect him to continue putting up the kind of numbers he has over the past few games.
Centre
Andre Drummond ($14,450)
Detroit’s All-Star big man Andre Drummond has backed up a huge year with an incredible start to the 2016-17 season. Across the first 25 games, Drummond has averaged an insane 14.9 points, 13.6 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, while also shooting a handy 54% from the field. On track for back-to-back All-Star appearances, Drummond’s form certainly hasn’t looked like dropping off with two 20-point, 20-rebound performances in his last three outings. On Thursday the Pistons face a weak Dallas side, a team that ranks last in the league for rebounds, which means we can expect Drummond to gather plenty of boards on both ends of the floor.
The Line Up
PG: Goran Dragic ($13,300)
SG: Patty Mills ($7,950)
PG: Lou Williams ($12,150)
SG: Bojan Bogdanovic ($6,700)
SF: Gordon Hayward ($14,050)
SF: Wesley Matthews ($9,300)
PF: Ersan Ilyasova ($8,300)
PF: Al Horford ($13,200)
C: Andre Drummond ($14,450)
Salary Remaining: $600
NBA SCORING SYSTEM
Base Points
Point Scored = 1 point
Missed Field Goal = -0.25 points
Missed Free Throw = -0.25 points
Assist = 1.5 points
Rebound = 1.25 points
Turnover = -0.5 points
Steal = 2 point
Block = 2 points
Bonuses
3 Point Made = 1 point
Double-Double = 2 points
Triple-Double = 2 points
Tune into ESPN Channel 508 from midday AEDT for a huge doubleheader. First, Miami host the Pacers, then old rivals Boston and San Antonio clash at the AT&T Center.