THE HANGOVER: DRAFTSTARS WEEKLY WRAP

October and American sports go together like food delivery services and Sunday night. The food isn’t always great, it’s not even always what you ordered, but it’s something. And you can eat it from bed.

Just like my favourite dumpling place, the NFL does not always deliver. But it certainly has this year. Week eight saw the Rams continue their unbeaten start with a grind-it-out victory against Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay. Not to be outdone, Pat Mahomes threw four TDs to lead the Chiefs to the second best record in the league.

Earlier, Seattle topped Detroit and staked their claims on a wildcard spot. And, across the pond in the UK, Philly edged past a Jacksonville sides whose defence had recently been released after being detained following a London nightclub “misunderstanding”. Can you imagine if that happened in the AFL?

Consistency was the key in the NFL contest. Comp winner Gullaci11, other than the selection of Todd Gurley (no way!!!), had no players score about 30. Still, they scored 192.78 and pocketed $1,070.

The NBA continued along the same vein it has for most of the season to date. Golden State is too good, Cleveland and Phoenix are too bad and Orlando still has not had a highlight since Shaq left. Apologies, Magic fans. Wait… nobody is a Magic fan.

Led by the incomparable Steph Curry, the Warriors are genuinely threatening their 73 wins season of 2015-16. Already this season, Curry has set another three-point record. He is now the first player in history to hit five threes in seven consecutive games, reminding everyone he is unopposed as the greatest shooter in history.

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And in good news for Bombers fans, Ben Simmons tweeted his wishes to play a season in the red and black before he retires. Essendon are reportedly open to trading away two first-round picks to make the deal happen.

NFL $15,000+ MONDAY

Week eight was another week of high scoring across the NFL. Funny enough though, it did not translate to huge DS scores with just four players outputting over 30 points. One was Todd Gurley, so that is nothing out of the ordinary. Another was James Conner who has been eating up rushing yards and TDs for breakfast in the absence of Le’veon Bell. The other two, Sammy Watkins (Mahomes’ receiver of choice this week) and Marvin Jones Jr., were both priced around the $10k mark and were insatiable value.

At QB, you would have been doing well if you selected Derek Carr. Despite his sides inability to exude any semblance of what they did last year, Carr has been alright. It was his best game on Monday as he threw for 244 yards and three TDs, also rushing for a TD. 27.76 point at $14,170 for a QB is good going.

We are happy to talk offence but let us talk D for a moment. The selection of a high scoring D cannot be undervalued. This week, priced at $5k, New Orleans scored 15 points. Well done to the 2% of entrants who selected them. Next week, look at Kansas City. They are up against Cleveland and are desperately undervalued.

NBA COMPETITIONS

The NBA is great because the players are great, right? Though this does not always match up with your Draftstars team. The internal battle about whether to pick Steph, KD, Anthony Davis or Giannis is one that consistently plays on the mind. But then you look at it like this, 50 DS points, which those guys average, can get you a fifth of the way to victory. Priced at roughly $20k, they also cost about a fifth of your salary cap. It makes sense to have one of them in your team.

Consequently, you need to find diamonds in the rough. Guys playing out of their skin, coming into a favourable matchup, all of that. And Nemanja Bjelica was your man over the last week. He’s been a lights out shooter this season, shooting 61% from the field but has also been stuffing the box score. His week culminated in an impressive 55 DS point showing against Washington, proving to be a diamond for the 26% of users who selected him.

A mid-priced option who is absolutely balling out this season is Zach Lavine. The two time dunk comp champion has elevated himself to bonafide NBA star. He is now the man at Chicago and has become their go to option on offence. He averages almost 30 points a game and shoots over 50% from the field and 40% from three. That’s almost 41 DS points per game. He is supremely undervalued too, if he is offered at under $15k, jump at him.

The NFL proved again it is one to watch in 2018. And the NBA offers something amazing day-in, day-out. Make sure you submit your Draftstars sides throughout your week to get in on the action!

Written by Brin Duggan

By Latest, NBA, NFL