NBA $10,000 THURSDAY: TIPS & SELECTIONS
NBA Thursday is back for the second to last time this season.
With teams preparing for the playoffs, we’re seeing an increasing number of stars sitting out, and at the same time with teams resigned to missing the playoffs those hampered by injuries are being shutdown for the year with nothing left to play for.
The result is some tricky terrain to navigate in Draftstars for the remainder of the season, with plenty of intriguing bargains to be found in these remaining slates.
Draftstars has $10,000 up for grabs in the Thursday jackpot.
Damian Lillard – PG – $19,670
Dame comes in as the most expensive player on the slate, unsurprising given the huge workload that he now needs to pick up. With the horrible injury to Jusuf Nurkic putting him on the shelf, and Lillard’s running mate C.J McCollum still out of action, the clock will be striking Dame Time for much of the evening. Even better, he gets a tasty match up against a poor, injury depleted Bulls team. Lillard is averaging 31 points, 10 dimes and five boards through his last five games, while also averaging just under five triples a game through that stretch.
Enes Kanter – C/PF – $10,020
The devastating injury to Nurkic does have a silver lining for Enes Kanter who will now find himself in the starting centre spot for the Blazers. Kanter has been seeing around 16-20 minutes recently, with two double-doubles in his last three games, but has proven in the past he is capable of logging more minutes, and capitalising on those minutes with some strong scoring and rebounding numbers including a stretch early January when Kanter posted four straight games of at least 35 Draftstars points when he received four straight games of at least 20 minutes. The Bulls bigs are depleted and will have a hard time stopping Kanter.
Andrew Bogut – C – $5,990
The big Aussie has been finding his footing again in the NBA, rejoining the Warriors four games ago. With DeMarcus Cousins sidelined, Bogut is already again becoming an important cog for the Warriors, logging 24 minutes in his last showing for 24.5 Draftstars points. Of course, playing for the Warriors, he’s far down the pecking order in terms of offensive options, but at the same time being involved in the Warriors brings with it some easy open looks and Bogut’s great passing skills as a big man helps him integrate in that process picking up some dimes as well. At close to basement price, he’s an intriguing punt to take.
Tomas Satoransky – PG – $10,860
The Wizards take a trip to Phoenix to face the Suns in a game that should be very short on defense, resulting in plenty of opportunities for all involved, including Satoransky. The Wizards point-guard has scored 30 or more Draftstars points in four straight games, with two double-doubles in that stretch, and has played at least 34 minutes in each of those games. Satoransky has also averaged over five boards and more than a steal a game during that four game stretch. He has developed into a player that stuffs the whole stat sheet, and with neither team having much left to play for this year, should be able to do some stat padding here.
Wayne Selden Jr – PG – $5,390
The Bulls find themselves without Zach LaVine, Kris Dunn and Otto Porter Jr, and with their playoff aspirations disappearing long ago, there is little incentive to get those guys back on the court. Wayne Selden Jr looks to be one of the primary beneficiaries of the fallout, finding himself in the starting lineup, logging 40 minutes in the Bulls last outing scoring 20 points in the process. There is nothing to lose here for the Bulls to continue to throw the ball Selden’s way in a depleted back court, and after putting up 20 points last game he should see plenty of opportunities again.
Enter the NBA $10,000 Thursday tournament.
NBA SCORING SYSTEM
Point Scored = 1 point
Missed Field Goal = -0.25 points
Missed Free Throw = -0.25 points
Assist = 1.5 points
Rebound = 1.25 points
Turnover = -0.5 points
Steal = 2 points
Block = 2 points
3 Point Made Bonus = 1 point
Double-Double = 2 points
Triple-Double = 2 points
NBA