THE HANGOVER: DRAFTSTARS WEEKLY WRAP
The holiday period is either over or nearly over. You are probably back at work, or the idea of heading back to work is fast approaching. But there is no reason to be morose for Christmas and New Years were just the heating stages of a January boiling pot of goodness.
Since last week we have already had the NFL Wild Card round, the New Years test between Australia and the New Zealand Prime Ministers XI reserve squad, a number of BBL thrillers and that sustained NBA mid season plodding.
While the NBA really is just plodding along at the moment, Draftstars is not. On Saturday alone, Draftstars offered up a $20k contest, not to mention the daily contests held throughout the week.
Due to injury, minutes restrictions and whatever other excuse players and organisations have for not playing the full strength lineup, there is value to be found across the NBA board.
If you remain on the ball you can pick up players on a tanking team like the Wizards’ Jordan McRae (48.25 DS points, $10k) or Garrison Mathews (26.25, $5k) who were two of the best value picks in the Saturday contest. Both are generally bench players but were thrust into greater roles in the rotation and had a DS point boost as a result.
For those on the NFL grind, the wild card week was wondrous. Houston came from nowhere to win a thriller over Buffalo, Tennessee somewhat predictably upset the Patriots, Marshawn Lynch returned to Seattle and led them to victory over a broken Philly side and the Vikings and Saints played out ANOTHER postseason classic with Minnesota snatching the win in OT.
Next week, the Vikings look to carry momentum into a matchup with the 49ers, as do Tennessee (v Baltimore), Houston (v the Chiefs) and Seattle (v Green Bay). All teams have a realistic chance at victory but each will rely on their big play makers to take the W.
On Aussie soil, the state of cricket in this country is excellent. Australia are in the midst of an adjectiveless victory over New Zealand. While the New Zealand side has suffered sorely from injury and illness, the Australian margin of victory cannot be understated.
Meanwhile, the backups waiting in the stands are putting on a show in the BBL (and the international imports are doing their bit as well). Since the New Years Eve game, all bar two games have gone down to the wire and some notable individual performances have buoyed the encounters.
That being said, last year’s BBL victors, the Renegades, are anchored to the bottom of the ladder without having won a game yet. The side they beat in the final last year, the Melbourne Stars, look like they may have the firepower to go one better this year and sit fairly comfortably atop the table.
CRICKET
The god of Draftstars looked favourably upon anyone who selected an Australian heavy side for the final test. The fact the Blackcap attack only claimed two second innings wickets played a large part, but the Australian batters have dominated the whole series.
Of those batters, Marcus Labuschagne was consistently the most imperative selection. The top scoring batsman in 2019 continued his form in the New Years test with his fourth ton in five tests in the first innings, a quick fire fifty in his second dig, and a mammoth score of 314 DS points.
Downhill Davey filled his pockets in the second innings with a century and a DS point explosion, while Goat Lyon was always a crucial pick on a typically spin friendly SCG deck. He finished with ten wickets for the match and 276 DS points.
In the Big Bash, the Stars lead the league and Marcus Stoinis leads the batting rankings. Consequently, he is a popular pick in each Stars contest, despite not bowling in the past few contests.
The Thunder sit in second spot and bowler Daniel Sams has been their chief destroyer with 12 wickets. Though his economy is over seven, he is reliable and he has taken at least two wickets in all but one game this season.
And on Sunday, D’Arcy Short struck the first century of the season with an unbeaten 103 against the Scorchers. He did it in 70 balls and bludgeoned seven sixes in the process.
NFL
Wildcard weekend lived up to the hype.
The QB pick of the contests was Deshaun Watson, a man Clemson head coach, Dabo Swinney, once described as the closest thing to Michael Jordan. And he did his best MJ impersonation against the Bills to get himself and them out of a tight spot in an OT thriller.
He did it all- in the air, on the ground, scoring and setting up to total 29 DS points. At $15k he was still excellent value.
If you have read the last few Hangovers you would know Derrick Henry is a favourite. And after Sunday he should be one of yours too (unless you are a Patriots fan). Bill Belichick had no answer for the man monster as he rushed for 182 yards and a score on his way to 27.4 DS points.
On Monday, the Seahawks’ D.K. Metcalf or Minnesota’s Dalvin Cook were the picks of the bunch. Metcalf, a first year receiver, carried his sides offence with 160 receiving yards and a TD.
Cook, a brutal ground man, scored twice as part of his 98 yards rushing. It was his first game back since a minor injury and he rushed 28 times, the most of the season. Expect Cook to take the ball plenty of times next week against a fair to middling 49ers run D.
NBA
The NBA contests are the Godfather of Draftstars contests. Big cash is splashed every week and entries are always through the roof. Why? On Saturday, user “grazerking” pocketed over $2,100 and all they had to do was cough up $15.
The other beautiful thing about NBA contests is the big 400 which has a prize pool now sitting at more than $42 thousand.
In any contest selecting James Harden is always sensible but when he does what he did on Saturday and goes for a 44 point triple double and notches up 83 DS points, his $23k price tag stings a little less.
Around the $10 thousand price tag is the sweet spot. Picking a guy like Thunder centre Steven Adams who then has a 24 point, 15 board explosion against Philly and racks up 48 DS points is what you need to win one of these contests.
Lakers guard Danny Green is another. He always has potential to erupt with his smooth and reliable three point stroke but on Saturday against the Pelicans he his six threes as part of his 25 points and finished with 47 DS points.
The Aussies are doing alright at the moment as well. Big Ben Simmons went off on Saturday for a 29 point triple double that included four blocks and three steals and gave him 75 DS points.
On a new team, and maintaining the Australian persuasion, was Dante Exum. After crossing from the Jazz to the Cavs he had a career high 28 points and 33 DS points. He is definitely one to keep on the radar as he works out his role on the Cavs roster.
Written by Brinley Duggan
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