Tonight’s the night. It’s our first Freeroll of the season on DraftStreet, a one-day points league that’s absolutely free to enter. Fifteen cash prizes will be awarded, $100 to the winner. It’s the perfect place to start if you’ve never played in daily leagues before. The Salary Cap version is easy to learn, but difficult to master, like all the very best games.
Chris Sheridan had his annual auction wiped out by Hurricane Sandy and says he doesn’t even miss season-long leagues. Unlike the boss, I will never give up traditional Roto and Head-to-Head leagues, the meat-and-potatoes of fantasy hoops. However, the more I play in daily Snake drafts, the more they remind me of dessert. The DS Salary Cap game is an even better complement to full-season play, almost as good as beer.
Click the link at the top (or the logo) to open a free account; you don’t need a credit card or deposit. Pick the eight players you think will perform the best — in tonight’s games only — without exceeding the $100,000 salary cap, and you’ll win the hundred bucks. The scoring system has five “positive” categories and three “negative” — PTS = 1 pt; REB = 1.25 pts; AST = 1.5 pts; STL = 2 pts; BLK = 2 pts but you are penalized for turnovers (-1 pt) and it’s another -0.5 pts for each missed FT or FG.
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, but you can enter now and tweak your lineup all day. If you like fantasy hoops, why not give this a try? I wouldn’t be endorsing it if it wasn’t challenging and fun.
There are many other great leagues tonight, including Qualifier #8 for the 2013 DraftStreet Basketball Championship. That one costs $22 to enter, and first place gets you into the main event, where the winner gets $50,000 cash! Tonight’s Qualifier is limited to 350 teams, and will pay out $2,500 in consolation prizes. Finishing second is worth $650, third place wins $325 and the top 30 get paid. If you can afford the ante, click here to enter.
I’m planning to try my luck in an $11 Qualifier next Wednesday, and we’ll keep you posted on various $2 Satellite contests, where you can win a seat in a Qualifier. The DSBBC continues with Wednesday and Friday Qualifiers until March 8; the big money is awarded on March 15, when even 30th (last) place is worth $1,000. The entire event pays out more than $250,000 and it’s the same basic game as tonight’s Freeroll.
| Freeroll 15 | Dec. 14 |
| Stars | Over $13,000 |
| Kevin Durant | $20,537 |
| Anderson Varejao | $18,497 |
| Kobe Bryant | $18,787 |
| David Lee | $18,478 |
| James Harden | $16,593 |
| Scrubs | Under $9,000 |
| Vince Carter | $8,636 |
| Alexey Shved | $8,706 |
| Jared Dudley | $7,597 |
| Marquis Daniels | $6,598 |
| C.J. Miles | $5,744 |
| Starters | $9,000 to $13,000 |
| Jordan Crawford | $11,692 |
| Chandler Parsons | $11,549 |
| Ed Davis | $9,703 |
| Jose Calderon | $10,091 |
| Shawn Marion | $10,696 |
With 11 games in the NBA tonight, there are thousands of possible combinations. The chart offers just a sample: five suggestions in each of three price ranges: over $13,000, under $9,000, and in between. (Please note that these are the Freeroll prices, established a few days ago.) If you’re entering the DSBBC or any other league tonight, the salaries may be different, as the DraftStreet computers make adjustments every day. For example, James Harden costs almost $1,200 more ($17,771) after returning from an ankle injury to score 31 points, making him a relative bargain in the Freeroll.
F Kevin Durant (OKC-F) $20,537
F Ed Davis (TOR-F) $9,703
G Rajon Rondo (BOS-G) $17,394
G Jose Calderon (TOR-G) $10,091
C Kevin Garnett (BOS-C) $13,369
C Chris Kaman (DAL-C) $10,481
U Vince Carter (DAL-G) $8,636
U Ersan Ilyasova (MIL-F) $9,422
Above is my tentative roster, playing a hunch on Vince Carter, who loves coming back to Toronto. I might plug someone else in at one or both Util spots closer to game time. All leagues close at 7:00 EST; you can make unlimited changes until then.
Last night my luck ran out in 3-man Snake drafts (thanks for nothing, Byron Mullens) but I did finish in a tie for eighth among 330 entries in the $2 GPP, good for a $17.50 consolation prize. After four days, there’s still $88.80 left from the $100 weekly bankroll, so I’ll be spreading about $40 around tonight in various $2 and $5 contests. One I’m joining for sure is a 6-man Snake, where first place wins $17.55 and second gets $9.45 (entry fee is $5) as opposed to the winner-take-all payout in 3-man leagues.
Everyone — even if you’ve never tried it before — should take part in the Freeroll tonight for our loyal readers. Why pass up a chance at free money?
Today’s Fantasy Spin previews all 11 NBA games in detail and recaps what happened on Thursday, when Carmelo Anthony scored 22 points in one quarter.