THE HANGOVER: DRAFTSTARS WEEKLY WRAP

Ho, ho, holy moly. Australian cricket is back. It’s back! Father Christmas is real, and he just dropped an Aussie win in your stocking. Considering the depths of despair the Aussies have come from, the heart of this series is being worn on the sleeve. But temper your excitement, there are still two tests to go. Merry Christmas though, cricket fans.

In Perth, two things have become clear. One, Virat Kohli is everything everyone ever says he is (the good stuff anyway) and more. His 214 ball hundred has been heralded as one of his best ever. And it was enough to make him the second fastest player to reach 25 test tonnes, surpassing countryman, and cricketing royalty, Sachin Tendulkar.

And two, we touched on last week. Nathan Lyon is the goat. End of that. He is the fourth highest Australian wicket taker ever, and he is charging at the great DK Lillee (355 wickets) like a rampaging rhino. And, to knock Kohli back a peg, he has dismissed the Indian star seven times now! Let us relive the most recent one, hey?

Outside of the second enthralling test match of this series, the NBA continued to roll on in season 2018-19. The Lakers have been hinting all season at their potential, somewhat emblematic of Lonzo Ball’s career. But on Sunday against the Hornets, Lonzo and the Lakers balled out. Winning easily, Zo and LeBron became the first teammates since 2007 to record triple doubles.

Oh, and if anyone can explain to me what the Wizards are about this year, I’m all ears. They pushed the Celtics three games ago, got whacked by the Nets (look out Spencer Dinwiddie), then crunched the Lakers in their next matchup.

And the NFL is continually bamboozling. Last week, the Seahawks put their best foot forward in terms of playoff aspirations, but on Monday they fell to the previously 3-10 49ers. Go figure.

Similarly confusing is the indifferent form of the early season powerhouses, Kansas City and the LA Rams. The Chiefs have now lost two of their last four, with their two wins coming unconvincingly against Baltimore and the Raiders. Meanwhile, the Rams are on a two game losing streak after going down in a shocker against the Eagles.

As usual, Draftstars had all of your fantasy contest needs covered across a big weekend of sports. Another weekend of over $50k on offer and another bunch of lucky winners. Sneaking home in Monday’s NFL fixture was Shaggsy to claim $976, and Goldenarm36 was successful in the $7,000 2nd Test contest, winning $840 by just two DS points.

AUSTRALIA v INDIA 2ND TEST

If this new WA stadium hosts test matches like this one for the rest of its days, Australian cricket fans owe a huge debt to the powers that be who got it there in the first place.

In what was a tospy-turvy match due to the unpredictability of the pitch, Australia come out on top by a pretty commanding 146 runs.

For the second match running, Nathan Lyon proved to be the best pick in the contest. The man is a walking wicket at the moment and is toying with the Indian batsmen. His match figures of 8/108 take his series wicket tally to 16. 16!!! In two matches! And his figures netted his 29% of selectors a huge 224 DS points. At this point, he is a must have in any Draftstars contest. I once saw Nathan Lyon rock up to a test match in his VY Holden ute, the Australian Lamborghini. Like car, like owner.

While Cheteshwar Pujara had a forgettable test match after his heroics in Adelaide, King Kohli stood up. The celebration he gave for his 25th test hundred implied he would let his bat do the talking, and that it did, knocking 140 runs for the match. Despite being the most expensive player in the contest, his return of 190 DS points was well worth the outlay. There is a rumour Sachin Tendulkar was gifted a toilet made of pure gold during his playing days, by the end of his career, don’t be surprised if Kohli gets a solid gold house.

NBA COMPETITIONS

As has been the case regularly, this blog once again cursed another side. This time, it’s Toronto. Two losses in a row by no means calls for panic stations, but we all saw what happened with Golden State’s (minor) fall from grace. On the other side of the coin, the quiet achieving Indiana Pacers have now won seven on the trot and sit in third place in the East. Above the highly touted 76ers, and Celtics.

Crossing back to the West, the Nuggets shook off their incredulous loss to the Hawks and have three consecutive wins against contenders the Grizzlies, OKC and the Raptors. Nikola Jokic is painting rainbows all over the league with his unicorn horn and leading the Nuggets to the pot of gold at the end of said rainbow.

Reigning MVP, James Harden, is currently balling. He notched the fourth 50-point triple double of his career (the most of all time) on Friday then backed it up with 32 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists on Sunday. The form he is in makes him a tempting selection but he does face a tough stretch over the next week/weekend with games against OKC and San Antonio. Buyer beware.

We’ve talked about Kings already, and mentioned this man’s triple double against Charlotte on Saturday. But LeBron James is superhuman. His 24 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists gave him 59 DS points.

Despite his royalty, the King was dethroned against the Wizards thanks some magic from John Wall. He erupted, and has been erupting, for 78.8 DS points by way of 40 points, 14 assists and four treys.

John Wall Dancing GIF from Johnwall GIFs

NFL COMPETITIONS

Week 15 was split across four days. That gave fans both extended viewing pleasure, and time to let their blood pressure return to normal. And none too soon either with just two weeks remaining before playoffs.

The game in which blood pressure would have spiked the most was on Friday between Kansas and the Chargers. LA receiver, Mike Williams, was the star of that show, catching two TD’s, a 2-point conversion and rushing for a score as well.

On Sunday, DeAndre Hopkins, WR from the Houston Texans, went ballistic. After starting the year on fire, Hopkins has had a lean month despite his sides dominance. That was all a distant memory against the Jets as he notched up 39 DS points on 170 receiving yards and two TD’s.

The Monday competition was dominated by running backs. The top six scorers all came from that position, headed by the great Todd Gurley II. A leading contender for MVP, Gurley scored twice, taking his season tally to 21 touchdowns. His game also netted him 34.4 DS points.

The best value selection in the contest was fellow RB, Wendell Smallwood. Smallwood threatened to break out in 2018 after injuries to teammates and an increase in his workload but it hasn’t exactly panned out that way. But Monday was a different story with the third year man racking up 19.7 points and two scores, all for just $5k.

Written by Brin Duggan

By BBL, Latest, NBA, NFL