THE HANGOVER: DRAFTSTARS WEEKLY WRAP

Although it’s not NYE 1999, the millennium bug has reared its ugly head. Strange things are happening across the sporting world. The BBL is the beach towel you unwrapped on Christmas day to little fanfare but turns out to be the gift that keeps on giving. Other than its unpredictability, the race for the $150k offered by Draftstars in the Live Final is heating up. 12 contestants have won their way through already and four fast pass tickets have been snatched up.

On the field, the Hobart Hurricanes look just about unbeatable with four wins from as many games and dominant batsmen, Matthew Wade and D’Arcy Short making runs for fun. In their top of the table clash against the Sydney Thunder, a 193 run first innings total by the Thunder was not enough to stop the ‘Cane train rolling on as they chased the total down with five balls to spare.

On Monday, every NFL side played their final match of the season and shaped the landscape of the playoffs. Most remarkably, the reigning champions, Philadelphia, scraped into a wildcard matchup against the Chicago Bears by way of a comprehensive win and a hapless loss by Kirk Cousins and the Vikings. And the Ravens claimed the AFC North while breaking Pittsburgh’s collective heart.

A relatively pedestrian week in the NBA may be the most unusual happening of the whole story. Since when was the NBA pedestrian? The only thing slightly different is James Harden going all Monstars in SpaceJam, taking skills from NBA stars, adding them to his own incredible abilities and putting together one of the best 10 game stretches of all time.

Not only have the Rockets gone 9-1 in that period and jumped from also rans to contenders, Harden has propelled himself into the MVP conversation. In that stretch, he has averaged 39 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds and 64.38 DS points. Holy moly.

BIG BASH CONTESTS

As previously mentioned, tickets are falling out of Draftstars’ pockets for the Biggest Bash Live Final. With one on offer in each contest, and multiple in scenarios resulting in a tie, only 58 winner’s tickets remain!

On Thursday during the Sixers and Stars game, Eagalizzle locked up a ticket for themselves, winning the contest by just one point. The win was thanks in no small part to returning Test player, Peter Handscomb, who plundered his way to 70 runs from 35 balls, resulting in 141 DS points. That was almost a quarter of the score needed to win the contest. Consider the fact he cost just $8,000 and Handscomb proved a valuable selection and match winner.

The Sydney Sixers have been somewhat of a surprise packet in BBL 08. They have already won half as many games as they did last year and have match winners throughout their side. No man has proven that more than English import, Tom Curran. After dominating on Christmas eve, he returned in the match up against the Renegades to once again contribute with the bat and ball, delivering his selectors 144.75 DS points.

Most astoundingly in BBL 08, the Perth Scorchers are pretty much terrible. They have one win from four games and their losses have been comprehensive. The return of the infamous Cameron Bancroft on Sunday did not help as they were bundled out for 107 by the Hurricanes who chased the total down in 17 overs.

In that match, D’Arcy Short was on fire with both bat and ball taking 2/17 and smacking 34 runs at just over a run a ball. He no sits 21 runs clear at the top of the run scorers list.

NBA CONTESTS

Over the weekend Milwaukee leap frogged Toronto into the top seed in the East and made their most valid claim for Eastern supremacy yet. Toronto really could not have done any more to retain top spot and will likely battle all season with the Bucks for the mantle. Fittingly, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard lead the MVP race and consistently dominate the box score and DS numbers.

Giannis backed up his 60 DS points on Friday with a triple-double and 62 DS points on Sunday against Brooklyn. Averaging 26 points, five assists, nine rebounds and one and a half steals and blocks per game, he chalks up 50 DS points per game on average. He is the unicorn of DS unicorns and his wage reflects it.

If you are after some mid-level value, LaMarcus Aldridge has been showing up for the Spurs lately. His last three games boast an average of almost 42 DS points and he notched up 50 against the Clippers. Priced at less than $13k, he is a value selection if he can continue at this rate.

Talking diamonds in the rough, Danuel House Jr., Rockets youngin, has benefitted from James Harden’s insane last 10 games. His three game average is almost 24 and he costs just $7,650. Despite hitting double figures in the points column just five times, he adds to his DS score in every column, contributing boards, steals, blocks and consistent three-point shooting as well.

NFL CONTESTS

With teams having the luxury of resting their superstars, similar to last week, some lesser lights are available at low prices with an increased usage rate.

Last week, Gurley role-filler, C.J. Anderson pumped out 23.2 DS points and was a genius selection. This week against the 49ers, he churned out another 24.4 DS points on 150 plus all-purpose yards and a score. Heading into the playoffs next week, it will be interesting to see how the Rams use Anderson, who is a beast after contact.

Josh Allen, once again, showed the league he may have what it takes to hang around as a starting QB. He has been the number one DS QB over the past six weeks and Monday was his most successful outing. His best passing performance (224 yards, three TD’s) buoyed his run game (95 yards, two TD’s) and helped him score 40.5 DS points.

The best selection you could have made this week, however, was Cowboys tight end, Blake Jarwin. Having scored 38.8 DS points in 15 games this year, Jarwin exploded for 36.9 points in week 17. He was the difference for the Cowboys as he pulled in seven catches for 119 yards and three TD’s.

Check in all week online or by the Draftstars app for a full slate of contests across the NBA, BBL and the fourth and final Test match against India.

Written by Brin Duggan

By BBL, Latest, NBA, NFL