Searching For the Free Square
In the game of Bingo, every card gets an empty spot in the middle called the “Free Square”. Since it’s the middle square, the free square is essentially the ideal spot from which to build lines around. In DFS we define the Free Square as the player to build your lineups around. Generally, this player represents the closest we can find to a sure thing for the slate. This column is all about trying to identify the free square for a particular slate. Very often, this will be a low-cost player thrust into a starting role and sure to make or exceed value. The type of player that allows us to load up the rest of our lineup with high salary studs. Occasionally it will be a high priced stud in a great spot, The goal of this column is to use quantitative data to identify the free square for the days Daily Fantasy Basketball slate. Each slate we will take a deep look at three or four players which represent outsized value on the day’s slate of games and choose the one which best represents the top value and floor play to earn the title of the slates Free Square
I hope everyone had a great weekend as we start off the week with a solid 8-game slate. The teams with the highest implied totals are as follows Golden State Warriors (113), Denver Nuggets (113), and the Houston Rockets (110). The highest priced players on the slate are James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and John Wall. Let’s dive into the slate:
Free Squares
- Malcolm Delaney PG/SG ATL ($3,000)
- Malcolm Delaney and the Atlanta Hawks will take on the Miami Heat on the road tonight. The Hawks have an implied total sitting at right around 98-points and they are currently 12-point underdogs. Delaney has played in 3 games this season in which he has netted the following values: 2.1x, 5.2x, and 4.9x. It is looking like Dennis Schroder is going to be out tonight for the Heat which is going to open up a lot of minutes for Delaney tonight. He is priced at the rock-bottom minimum and will most likely have all the opportunity6.6 to crush value tonight. He has the following averages on the season so far: 18.5 MPG, 2.0 RPG, 2.7 APG, .3 BPG, 4.3 PPG, 12.2 FPPG, and a .66 DKFPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 20.084 which would be good enough for right around 6.69x value. We also have him slated to see right around 30 minutes tonight. I think that is a pretty solid projection, but I think we have to expect at least 7x value out of Delaney tonight at a price of $3,000. I do not think that will be a problem for him tonight and I expect him to reach and exceed that value tonight.
- Josh Richardson SG/SF MIA ($4,800)
- Josh Richardson and the Miami Heat will take on the Atlanta Hawks at home tonight. The Heat have an implied total sitting at right around 108-points and they are currently 12-point favorites. The Hawks have a pace number 106.7 and the Heat have been playing at pace of right around 106.4. Richardson has played in two games this season and he has the following numbers in those games: 36.2 MPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.0 BLKPG, 11.0 PPG, 23.8 DKFPG, and a .66 DKFPM. He will be guarded by Taurean Prince tonight who is a solid defender but with the price and the number of minutes Richardson gets I still think he will be able to reach value. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 30.40 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 6.25x value. He is slated for 36 minutes tonight. Richardson is getting a heavy dose of minutes and I agree with the Domination Station tonight in that he will have a solid game. Lock Richardson in as either a shooting guard or a small forward tonight on Draftkings.
- Andre Drummond C DET ($7,800)
- Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons will take on the Detroit Pistons will take on the Philadelphia 76ers tonight at home tonight. The Pistons have an implied total sitting at right around 109-points and the Pistons are currently 3.5-point favorites. The Pistons are playing at a pace of right around 100.6 right now and the 76ers are playing at a pace of right around 107.9. This will be a big pace-up game for the Pistons tonight which should bode well for Drummonds fantasy production tonight. Drummond has the following values on the season tonight in 3 games: 4.8x, 3.8x, and 5.2x. He is averaging the following numbers on the season: 29.0 MPG, 12.3 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.0 BLKPG, 12.7 PPG, 35.1 DKFPG, and a 1.21 DKFPM. He is likely to be matched up against Joel Embiid tonight who is the 6th best center defender tonight. According to out Domination Station, we can see that we have a projection of right around 44.924 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.76x value. He is slated for a projection of around 31 minutes tonight. I think Drummond should excel tonight in what should be a pretty uptempo game for the Pistons tonight. I love him as a center on Draftkings tonight.
Free Square of the Night
This is a pretty good slate tonight with a ton of money up for grabs across the industry tonight. I hope I have narrowed down some guys that we can look to target. We have tons of tools and content available at the DFS Army this year for NBA so don’t miss out on all of those opportunities to make some money. Click the link “DFS Army VIP Membership” and sign up and join the Army today! With my ultimate free square pick, I am going to go with Malcolm Delaney tonight! Good luck Army!
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