Sorare NBA | Game Week 17 Primer

Welcome to the Sorare NBA Game Week Primer! 

Game Week 17 kicks off today, and we're here to break down all the relevant information for the upcoming slate. Lineups lock at 6:50 p.m. EST, with the upcoming competitions running Friday - Sunday. 

Some additions to note coming up in the Sorare world: 

• Sorare NBA announced a 'Countdown to Christmas' special today, featuring new themed competitions and prizes. 'Deck the Halls' and 'Season of Giving' contests go live in GW19, with another opportunity to earn rewards across various tiers. Several winners will also earn two tickets to an NBA game of their choice, and an NBA Store gift card! 
  
  Plus, If you crush it over the next two weeks in any of the Champion contests... You'll have an NBA League Pass subscription coming your way: 

• New eligibility requirements start on Monday in GW18 — meaning you'll now need all five players to be the same tier going forward (ex: Rare tournaments require five Rares). 

Game Week Rewind ⏮

Reigning MVP Nikola Jokic (75 Sorare points) topped the slate, with Fred VanVleet (69 Sorare Points) leading the way from a value perspective at a +41 from his 28 L10 cap.

Multi-Game Monitor 🗓

In Sorare NBA, having a player with several games during a competition can be a big advantage — with an extra chance at a ceiling performance. Here are the teams with 2+ contests in Game Week 16:

2 Games With B2B: Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trailblazers, Washington Wizards

2 Games: Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Toronto Raptors

Injury Info 🏥

Here are some notable (not all-inclusive) injury situations to monitor and plan for ahead of this weekend's games.

Some major injury news to note from this past Game Week:

• Stephen Curry is out for at least two weeks with a shoulder injury, opening up some significant minutes in the Warriors' backcourt (more on that below).
• LaMelo Ball returned to action this week after missing time due to an ankle injury. 
• Cade Cunningham underwent surgery on his shin and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
• Bucks forward Joe Ingles is targeting Monday, Dec. 19 for his return from ACL surgery.
• Gordon Hayward is expected to return to action tonight, after missing the last 9 games with a shoulder injury.

The info below is for Monday, Dec. 5, but also gives insight into future availability for the rest of the Game Week:

Ruled Out  ❌

Dejounte Murray, ATL (ankle), Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN (calf), Andrew Wiggins, GSW (groin), John Collins, ATL (ankle), Clint Capela, ATL (calf), Tyrese Maxey, PHI (foot), OG Anunoby, TOR (hip), Wendell Carter, ORL (foot), Michael Porter, DEN (heel)

Questionable ❓

• Rudy Gobert, MIN (ankle), D'Angelo Russell, MIN (knee), Klay Thompson, GSW (knee), Kevin Huerter, SAC (ankle), Marcus Smart, BOS (illness)

The designations above are as of Friday at 1:00 p.m. EST. As injury information is breaking at all hours prior to lineups locking, a great resource for up-to-date news is the Underdog NBA Twitter account.

Value Plays 🤑

Last Game Week's Value Pick Performances:

Player | L10 | GW 16 Performance 

• Kyle Anderson, 21 L10, 25 Sorare Points (+4) 🆗
• Bogdan Bogdanovic, 27 L10, 26 Sorare Points (-1) ❌
• RJ Barrett, 29 L10, 33 Sorare Points (+4) 🆗
• Immanuel Quickley, 19 L10, 30 Sorare Points (+11) ✅
• Blake Griffin, 12 L10, 20 Sorare Points (+8) 🆗

Not great, not terrible this past Game Week. I was a week too early on Aaron Holiday (a GW 15 recommendation), who went wild for 41 Sorare Points on Monday.

The late scratch of Ja Morant post-publishing on Monday also led to a huge value performance from Tyus Jones (48 Sorare Points) who has shown to be a virtual must-play any time he receives big minutes. 

*Note — these selections are based purely on L10 value in lineups — and do not consider the auction or market prices of the players listed. 

Darius Bazley, OKC | 13 L10 — Bazley was inserted into the starting lineup on Wednesday after Jeremiah Robinson-Earl's ankle injury (who is now week-to-week) — and immediately popped with 27 Sorare Points. At just a 13 L10 cap and with a back-to-back coming this weekend, Bazley should have no problem providing significant value with expanded minutes. 

*UPDATE* — Bazley has been ruled out of Friday's contest due to illness, making him an extremely risky play with no guarantee he is healthy for the second contest.

Also Consider: Jalen Williams (19 L10), Aaron Wiggins (11 L10)

Jordan Poole, GSW | 30 L10 and Donte DiVincenzo, GSW | 20 L10 — At a 30 L10, this is usually a higher price than I'd like to include in the value column. However, with Stephen Curry sidelined for at least the next few weeks and the Warriors already battling other injuries and minute management... It's time to fire up the Poole Party. We've seen the electric scorer light things up when made the focal point of the offense, and Poole should have every opportunity to dominate usage in the foreseeable future.

The open minutes in the backcourt should also thrust Donte DiVencenzo into more minutes — but the guard has been producing even prior to Curry's injury, with 30+ Sorare Points in four of his last five contests. 

Also Consider: Jonathan Kuminga (19 L10), Moses Moody (5 L10)

Oneka Okongwu | 18 L10 — Atlanta Hawks starting center Clint Capela will miss 1-2 weeks with a calf injury, which blows the doors wide open for value in the ATL frontcourt. Both Okongwu and AJ Griffin have been massive value plays for large portions of the season with John Collins on the shelf, and losing Capela means even more opportunity. Okongwu has had 25+ Sorare Points in his last three games, and he should be in line for all the minutes he can handle this weekend.

Also Consider: AJ Griffin (21 L10), De'Andre Hunter (22 L10), Jalen Johnson (14 L10)