THE HANGOVER: DRAFTSTARS WEEKLY WRAP

Victoria’s Spring racing carnival is over now. You can all hang your dress clothes up for another year. Don’t worry about getting them dry cleaned, that’s a problem for future you. Just promise yourself one week of sobriety and wholesomeness and forget about the debauchery that occurred over the past week and a bit.

Direct your attention now to the perpetual motion of sports. And get right back on the horse (pun intended) you hitched at the start of the carnival.

While you were off gallivanting around Flemington, the NBA and NFL kept rolling and the ODI series between Australia and South Africa came and went.

In the basketball, the Bucks steamrolled the Warriors en route to a 10-3 start to the season, their best start since 2001. Jimmy Butler was traded to the Sixers and Carmelo Anthony’s stint at Houston was derailed.

The NFL threw its typical spanner in the works as Tennessee completely dismantled New England, who saw that coming? The Rams and Chiefs just kept on keeping on and the Buffalo Bills exploded for 41 points, eight more than their previous four games combined.

The Bills scored more touchdowns in the first quarter than they had in their previous three games, hence the excitement.

And, after being demoralised in Perth, Australia broke a seven game ODI losing streak to topple the South Africans in Adelaide… Then they were crushed by them in Hobart and lost the series. Anyway, a win, at last!

Draftstars NBA Saturday contest, and its $1,884 first prize, went to dtownsend who did not have a player score under 25, the NFL Monday contest was won by Arteta who got over 75 points from Nick Chubb and Zach Ertz alone. And, the second ODI battle was taken out by Rubbsta who selected four of the top six players.

NBA COMPETITIONS

Have we got any idea who will be the number one challenger to the Warriors three-peat this year? It has to be out of the Bucks, Celtics, Sixers and, because they have the best record in the league, the Raptors. Will it matter or will the Warriors go 16-1 in the playoffs again? Probably. My vote is the Bucks.

While we work it out, let us cast an eye over the weekend of Draftstars NBA contests.

Joel Embiid went off against Charlotte in an overtime victory. Scoring 42 points, hauling in 18 rebounds and blocking four hapless opponents, he was good for 77.50 DS points. His salary at the time was $19,640. Steep, granted, but he has scored the most points and is second in rebounds and fourth in blocks across the NBA. A worthwhile investment.

On Saturday, jingling Joe Ingles erupted for an equal career high 27-points. He outburst, combined with 5-9 shooting from downtown, made for 51.25 DS points. Valued at a touch over $10k, he was one of the best value selections of that contest.

Quinn Cook, a different point guard from the Warriors, has been quietly staking his claims for minutes on a tightly packed roster. Over the past three games he has averaged over 30 DS points and managed a stat line of 27 points, three rebounds and five assists in his most recent outing. Valued at $7,620, this offensive weapon could be a handy DS addition if he plays enough minutes.

As predicted last week, Zach Lavine continued, and continues, to light it up in his role at Chicago and Kyrie Irving is growing into his season.

NFL $10,000+ MONDAY

Two teams scored over 50 this week… Over 50!!! One of those teams, the New Orleans Saints, are a seriously scary proposition for all opposing teams. On the flip side, they are stacked full of top notch Draftstars scorers, which we spoke about last week.

But, this week, let us start with the best value player for the entire NFL contest, Zay Jones. Ever heard of him? Nope. Well he’s a second year wide receiver at the Bills and he just scored 23.30 points and cost $5,000. One per cent of entrants knew him.

He teamed up with another unknown, Matt Barkley. Barkley, making his first appearance for the Bills, threw two touchdowns and ignited the previously stagnant offence. His effort was good enough for 17.08 DS points. At $5,000, the four per cent who picked him up got some serious bang for their buck.

The top scorer in the contest, however, was superstar tight end, Zach Ertz. In one of the best DS outputs of the season, Ertz chalked up 40.50 points. He hauled in 14 catches for 145 yards and hit the scoreboard twice. Have yourself a day young man.

Another tight end who has been lighting it up this year is Colts recruit, Eric Ebron. He caught three touchdowns on Monday, now has 10 for the year, is on track for the all-time TE touchdown record (18) and managed 28.10 DS points (at just $7,380).

AUSTRALIA v SOUTH AFRICA ODIs

Well, after losing the first ODI, Australia made a remarkable turnaround to win the second match, but then reminded their fans of the shemozzle of Australian cricket, once again, in Hobart.

Despite playing for the losers, Marcus Stoinis continued his ascension to ODI superstardom. He took eight wickets at 15 and contributed with the bat, smacking 63 from 67 in the third match. He was easily Australia’s most consistent, and best, performer for the series and scored over 100 in each Draftstars contest.

Man of the series, David Miller, only needed two innings to make 192 runs. He has been a thorn in the sides of the Australian’s before, and proved to be just that again. His DS score in the final ODI was the highest for the series.

One man who could feel slighted by Miller’s selection as player of the series is the legendary Dale Steyn. Returning from a shoulder fracture, Steyn took seven wickets at 13 with an economy of 3.48. He also featured in the top 10 DS scores for each of the matches.

The ODI series is now over but the NBA and NFL are still rolling on. Make sure you submit your Draftstars sides throughout your week to get in on the action!

Written by Brin Duggan

By BBL, Latest, NBA, NFL