To celebrate our return to daily fantasy league play at DraftStreet, there’s a Friday Freeroll just for Sheridan Hoops readers.
It’s free to open an account, you don’t need a credit card and no deposit is required. Click the logo to get started immediately in Tuesday leagues, or wait for our Freeroll and a chance to win one of 15 cash prizes. The winner gets $100. Again, that’s a Friday night tournament, but you can enter now and change your lineup at any time. Give it a try!
This diary follows my learning curve as an experienced Roto and H2H player trying to figure out the subtleties of daily leagues. Each week starts with a $100 bankroll; last night I joined six contests for a total of $15 and made a $20 profit.
Every day, we list 15 players in the chart, my suggestions grouped by price range: over $13,000, under $9,000, and in between. If you’ve ever participated in fantasy auctions, you know the “Stars & Scrubs” philosophy. Using that terminology doesn’t mean I’m sure it’s the best approach.
Bargains are great in any price range. You’re trying to pick the best possible 8-man team, within a $100,000 salary cap. That’s an average of $12,500 per player. Theoretically, to “afford” a player with a $20,000 salary, you need to pair him with someone making $5,000. The more “Stars” you squeeze into the lineup, the more “Scrubs” required for balance.
| DraftStreet 15 | Dec. 11 |
| Stars | Over $13,000 |
| Kobe Bryant | $18,787 |
| Carmelo Anthony | $16,648 |
| Dwight Howard | $18,545 |
| Deron Williams | $14,366 |
| Tyson Chandler | $14,952 |
| Scrubs | Under $9,000 |
| Jason Smith | $8,051 |
| Corey Brewer | $8,826 |
| Kyle Singler | $6,939 |
| Martell Webster | $7,248 |
| Jodie Meeks | $7,340 |
| Starters | $9,000 to $13,000 |
| Ty Lawson | $12,502 |
| Greg Monroe | $12,435 |
| Robin Lopez | $11,541 |
| Andre Iguodala | $9,984 |
| Greivis Vasquez | $11,185 |
There are only five NBA games tonight, which limits the player pool somewhat. There are still plenty of options. Leagues close at 7:00 EST; you can make unlimited changes to your lineups until then. Here’s one of mine, for now:
F Carmelo Anthony (NY-F) $16,648
F Ryan Anderson (NO-F) $13,158
G Kobe Bryant (LAL-G) $18,787
G J.R. Smith (NY-G) $9,349
C Tyson Chandler (NY-C) $14,952
C Greg Monroe (DET-C) $12,435
U Jodie Meeks (LAL-G) $7,340
U Martell Webster (WAS-G) $7,248
Even if Kyrie Irving returns, I think Kobe Bryant is the G to own tonight and Carmelo Anthony is an attractive price. The possible return of Anthony Davis shouldn’t affect Ryan Anderson’s numbers; if anything he’ll be wide open more often. Both my C are good value. There isn’t much money left to fill G2, U1 and U2 in this scenario. Fortunately, you can enter more than once in some leagues. Tayshaun Prince ($9,808) and Jerry Stackhouse ($4,808) is one variation on Meeks and Webster. I’m also pondering Bradley Beal ($9,916) in place of Smith.
Breaking news during the day often makes last-minute changes necessary. My advice is to enter the contests you’re most interested in before they fill up, then tweak your lineups closer to tip-off time.
The weekly format uses a different salary scale, because number of games is so important. They don’t have to be Monday to Sunday — I joined another $2 weekly league today, getting three starts by Kevin Durant for just $11,032. In weeklies that closed yesterday, KD will make only two starts and wasn’t worth using.
Backing my ‘best” eight for $5 in a Double-Up league will be an everyday thing. Finish anywhere in the top 50 (from 110 entries) to double my money? Sounds easy enough, and it worked last night — I finished tenth. Winning a 20-man league returned $15.30 for my $2 entry fee, and 20th place among 550 teams in the $1K Guaranteed Prize Pool contest was worth another ten bucks.
Playing slightly more aggressively while ahead makes sense. In addition to multiple teams in tonight’s $2 GPP and another $5 Double-Up, I’ll try a 10-man Pick ‘em league for $2 and a $5 Snake draft. Check in tomorrow for another update and my picks to click on a very busy Wednesday in the NBA.
If you haven’t already joined DraftStreet, click here to sign up. If you want a test drive before making a deposit, join a free league, where you can win points redeemable for prizes.
Today’s Fantasy Spin previews all of tonight’s games in more detail and recaps what happened on Monday, including a surprise return of Linsanity.