If you enjoy fantasy hoops and have never played in a daily league, you don’t know how much fun and excitement you’re missing. My Roto and Head-to-Head keeper leagues with old friends and rivals still take priority, but once you’ve drafted in those formats, the season is roster management: making trade offers, scouring the free agent list and setting lineups.
At Draft Street, you can draft a new team every day. Literally. One of the three daily formats is a Snake draft, which come in three sizes. 2-man, where it’s just you and one other owner, 3-man and (most nights) 6-man. I can’t afford more than the $5 entry fee, but there are many other levels — $11, $22, $55, $109, $215 and $420 — and the odds are slightly better for high-rollers. For example, in a 3-man $5 league, the winner gets $13.50, a perfectly sweet 170% profit. The $420 player wins $1200, or 185.7% profit. The game is well-designed and drafts are quick; there’s a 45-second clock.
As much fun as it is in the live draft room, their Salary Cap game is even better, and our Friday Freeroll for Sheridan Hoops readers is the ideal way to get started. The link lets you open a free account; no credit card or deposit is required. Pick the eight players you think will perform the best (in tomorrow night’s games only) without exceeding the $100,000 salary cap, and you’ll win $100 cash. No strings attached.
There are 14 other cash prizes: $60 for second, $30 for third and $20 for fourth are not too shabby, considering it’s absolutely FREE to enter. Even finishing 10th through 15th wins you five bucks. The contest closes at 7:00 EST on Friday night, but you can enter today and make unlimited lineup changes until then. Check it out!
| DraftStreet 15 | Dec. 13 |
| Stars | Over $13,000 |
| Kobe Bryant | $19,063 |
| Dwight Howard | $17,708 |
| Carmelo Anthony | $17,708 |
| Josh Smith | $17,184 |
| LaMarcus Aldridge | $17,149 |
| Scrubs | Under $9,000 |
| Gary Neal | $8,425 |
| Antawn Jamison | $8,419 |
| Rasheed Wallace | $7,269 |
| Sasha Pavlovic | $6,823 |
| Luke Babbitt | $4,697 |
| Starters | $9,000 to $13,000 |
| J.J. Hickson | $12,815 |
| Jeff Teague | $11,072 |
| Raymond Felton | $11,549 |
| J.R. Smith | $9,914 |
| Byron Mullens | $10,696 |
With only three games in the NBA tonight, options are limited, but there are still big decisions to make. Every day, the chart offers five suggestions in three price ranges: over $13,000, under $9,000, and in between.
All leagues close at 7:30 EST; you can make unlimited changes to your lineups until then. Here’s one of mine, where value-priced C let me spend at F and G:
F LaMarcus Aldridge (POR-F) $17,149
F Josh Smith (ATL-F) $17,184
G Kobe Bryant (LAL-G) $19,063
G Jeff Teague (ATL-G) $11,072
C J.J. Hickson (POR-C) $12,815
C Byron Mullens (CHA-C) $10,696
U Luke Babbitt (POR-F) $4,697
U Rasheed Wallace (NY-F) $7,269
Entering three different teams in a $2 contest tonight with a $600 Guaranteed Prize Pool, I’ll try other possible combinations at G2, U1 and U2, my cheapest and riskiest picks. Last night was a writeoff, with Kevin Love wrecking every team, so I’m actually down $2.70 from the $100 weekly bankroll and will invest no more than a third of that today.
If you haven’t already joined DraftStreet, click here to sign up and you can start with tonight’s leagues. Everyone — even if you’ve never tried it before — should play in the Friday Freeroll just for our loyal readers. There’s $300 in total cash prizes for the top 15 finishers and it’s 100% free to join.
Today’s Fantasy Spin previews tonight’s three games in more detail and recaps a busy NBA Wednesday, including the amazing Warriors winning in Miami.