THE HANGOVER: DRAFTSTARS WEEKLY WRAP

Merry Christmas Draftstars’! May your day be jolly, full of food and drink and successful across each contest you enter. Since last week there have been quite a few gifts placed under the tree. First, Santa come down, waved his hand and the BBL started. Then, he delivered one of the most exiting week 1d’s the NFL has seen. And, as a cherry on top of a Christmas pudding, the big guy in red made the NBA go mad.

So, if you have been living under a rock, Draftstars is offering THE biggest, most insanely large, Daily Fantasy Sports prize pool for the BBL final. It works like this; you get the chance to win a spot in the Biggest Bash Live Final during every BBL game. It is $2 to enter each contest, and you could pocket up to $50k in the final.

Pretty good, right? But not enough for Draftstars. If you make the Live Final, you will also be granted a VIP ticket to a Draftstars event, held at Crown Melbourne and attended by ambassador, Brett Lee. Already, nine contest winners have secured their place and a rearing to go for the February 17 final. You can enter here!

While all of that was happening, the NBA went a little weird. LeBron tried to in-season recruit Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, Kevin Durant, Ben Simmons, Giannis, Kyrie, Luka Doncic, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jesus Christ. And it is no surprise the man is big on Doncic. The international rookie has been absolutely balling all year but his biggest moment came against the Blazers when he forced OT with a cold-blooded three-point buzzer beater.

Week 16 of the NFL was great. It was an emotional roller coaster. The fact I watched it hungover probably did no help, but I almost cried when Phil Rivers and could have taken the top seed but fired blanks all day and lost to the Ravens. Who, by the way, are increasingly impressive. Similarly, Houston fell to the building Eagles on a walk off field goal and missed out on securing a playoff berth. And let us send a Christmas prayer to the enigmatic Ju-Ju Smith-Schuster who turned the ball over late, allowing Drew Brees to engineer a match winning last quarter drive.

As always, Draftstars was on hand during all of these contests offering you the chance to take your excitement to the next level. As previously mentioned, nine lucky punters won their way into the Biggest Bash Live Final, the most recent being DaDestroyer who wiped away the competition on Christmas eve winning by 25 points.

BIG BASH CONTESTS

We are already eight games into BBL08. It hardly feels like it has even started, yet we can already see the Renegades are a much improved side, the Thunder won’t be as bad as they were last year and Justin Langer may indeed be the best T20 coach the world has on offer. The Scorchers are 0-2, hardly a time for panic, but they have not lost two consecutive games in the last two BBL seasons.

D’Arcy Short, after failing for the international side, is once again going to be one of the eminent players in the BBL. Already, he has knocked over 100 runs in two games including an impressive 67 against the Heat.

The best individual performance came on Christmas eve when English import, Tom Curran, notched up 181.50 DS points by way of three wickets and an impressive 62 run knock. In that contest, he was priced at $13,900 and his score made him the best value selection.

In that same game, top wicket-taker, Daniel Sams, claimed a second three wicket haul. His effort took him to six wickets in two games and helped him on his way to 116 DS points.

NBA CONTESTS

Despite the brilliance of Luka Doncic, the Mavericks are in a six game losing rut. And, while they are desperately trying to pitch success to their star forward, Anthony Davis, the Pelicans have now lost four in a row and sit second to bottom in the West. Concurrently, the Warriors are regaining ascendency and have climbed their way back to second, still behind the Nuggets.

LeBron is balling out at an unprecedented rate, just for something different. The man is incredible. Five years ago, the debate between he and MJ was laughable. Now, it’s almost the toss of a coin. After taking a basket case Cavaliers side to five straight finals series, he now has the previously horrendously bad Lakers in a playoff spot and a likely second round playoff appearance. Naturally, his otherworldly performances translate to huge DS scores. Over the past three games he has averaged over 60, including a 61.25-point triple double against the Pelicans.

Over the whole year, James Harden has been playing incredibly. Despite all the discussion around Giannis as MVP, Harden is still my choice. He’s averaging 32 points, six rebounds, nine assists and two steals per game this season. Over his past six games he has scored less the 60 once. He is automatic DS points.

On Sunday, Bradley Beal was having NONE of the Suns. In triple overtime he had himself a day chalking up the monstrous box score of 40 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds as he carried the Wizards over the line. That was good for over 70 DS points and his best output of the year.

NFL CONTESTS

With one week of games now before playoffs, teams are either taking it easy and trying out some new things before their first playoff game, or scrambling for a wildcard spot in week one of the post season.

All of the Saints, Rams, Bears, Chiefs and Chargers have clinched a playoff spot. They can relax. But for fourteen teams, who you can check here, the race is still wide open.

The Eagles are one of those sides. And they are in the position they are because of a monster game from Nick Foles against the Texans. In what will likely be his last home game in Philly, Foles threw 35 completions for 471 yards (a franchise record) and four touchdowns. “Saint Nick”, really showed up at Christmas time and scored himself 38 DS points.

The Ravens are another side in a similar position. Since invoking Lamar Jackson as QB1, they have turned it up a notch. And, after extending long-time coach, John Harbaugh, they came out and beat the previously 11-3 Chargers. Relying heavily on their defence, Baltimore battle to output high individual fantasy scores but their D/ST was the pick of the week with 22 DS points.

The savviest pick you could have made this week was the running back who filled the void of Todd Gurley. Rested in the lead up to the playoffs, Gurleys positon was filled by C.J. Anderson. After scoring 16 DS points all year until week 16, and being signed by the Rams on the Tuesday before the game, Anderson went off for 22 against the Cardinals. He rushed for 167 yards, 105 which came after contact (most by a Rams rusher in 10 years) and a score.

Written by Brin Duggan

By BBL, Latest, NBA, NFL