THE HANGOVER: DRAFTSTARS WEEKLY WRAP

America is the sporting capital of the world right now. I mean, it normally is. But at the moment it certainly is.

The CFB championship game just happened, one of the biggest sporting events in the world. LSU won, on the back of Heisman winner and future number one pick, Joe Burrow’s, once in a lifetime season.

The NFL divisional round playoffs just happened and were some of the best games played all season. The Chiefs came back from 24-points down and then scored over 50 to overcome the Texans…

The Titans and Derrick Henry had less plays than Lamar Jackson on his own and smoked the Ravens away from home…

The 49ers made easy work of Minnesota and the Packers were made to work hard against Seattle. Who do you think will be playing off in Super Bowl LIV?

Among all of that, the Big Bash really heated up with most credit going to the Melbourne Stars’, Marcus Stonis, and his stunning 147 run fest against the Sydney Sixers.

Not enough to catch the fancy of the Australian selectors though who are off in India for the three game ODI series between Australia and India.

And the NBA just kept on going, particularly the Lakers.

Despite missing AD for multiple games and LeBron for another, they are in the midst of a nine game winning streak. With Kyle Kuzma stepping up in his star teammates’ absence, the Lakers are now equal favourites for the championship alongside their city-mate Clippers and the league leading Bucks.

CRICKET

The aforementioned Marcus Stoinis innings was the most prolific in BBL and Draftstars history. He managed 266.5 DS points and was absolutely imperative if you wanted to claim a contest victory.

Mitch Marsh, of the Scorchers, is another Aussie discard putting up big BBL numbers. His last three games have yielded him an average of 115 DS points with his 93 run knock against the Heat giving him 175 DS points alone.

Those two top the batting rankings but it is really a race between Stoinis and daylight.

As was the case last week, Daniel Sams tops the wicket takers. It can be risky splashing cash on a bowler, but Sams has been consistently taking wickets.

Haris Rauf, of the Stars, has come from absolutely nowhere to be one of the most expensive bowlers in Draftstars. But it is no surprise when you consider he has taken 15 wickets in seven games, and he claimed a hat trick on Wednesday last week.

That match earnt him 92 DS points.

Incredibly, earlier the same day, Afghan national and Strikers hero, Rashid Khan, took a hat trick in a loss to the Sydney Sixers.

NFL

The Chiefs/Texans game was the highest scoring game on the scoreboard and in Draftstars ranks. The two top scoring players, Pat Mahomes and Travis Kelce, were almost the whole reason Kansas City got back into the game after they connected for three scores in the second quarter.

Their games earnt them 41.40 DS points (Kelce) and 38.14 DS points (Mahomes) each.

Green Bay and Seattle fought out a classic and the Packers have Davante Adams to thank for their victory. He has carried injury all year but chose the right time to come good with a 36 DS point explosion from eight catches, two scores and 160 yards through the air.

Derrick Henry was AGAIN the man for the Titans. He has to be included in your sides. The man is on a mission right now and nobody can stop King Henry. Priced around $16k, it is a fair hit, but his past few performances have been breath taking and the Titans are leaning on him for offence. He had another 26 DS points against Baltimore.

In the 49ers victory, it was a somewhat unlikely hero for DS players in Tevin Coleman. Priced at $6k, his 22.5 DS point return helped carry contest winner RavenMamba to victory. He finished with two scores and 105 yards rushing.

NBA

Hidden among all the American football was a fairly rudimentary week in the NBA. The usual comings and goings happened, Dwight Howard hit a three though…

As mentioned above, Kyle Kuzma exploded for a pair of games in which he averaged 39 DS points a contest. Be extremely wary of Kuzma though. Immense trade speculation could spell the end to this run if the Lakers look to protect him during trade talks, plus, his role will greatly diminish when AD returns to full health.

Trae Young and James Harden were locked in a triple double shootout the other night and both finished with 40-point TDs. Having either in your contest entry would have netted you a minimum of 38.6 DS points (Young) and a maximum of 39.7 (Harden).

D’Angelo Russell is a player making a little noise lately. He has a three game average of over 50 and six of his last seven scores are over 40 (with an injury layoff in between). Are the Warriors giving him the keys to the kingdom so he can boost his trade value? Do they have anyone else to hand them to? Does anyone care so long as he contributes such hefty scores to your Draftstars lineup?

Written by Brinley Duggan

By AFL, AFLW, BBL, Latest, NBA, NFL, NRL