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
Recap
For our free squares last night we had Damian Lillard who ended up netting us right around 29.25 DKFP which was good enough for right around 3.5x value. Another one of our free squares was Lou Williams who ended up with right around 19.50 DKFP which was good enough for right around 4x value. Finally our last free square was Aaron Gordon who managed to put to up 65 DKFP which was good enough for right around 9.4x value.
Tonight
We have a solid 10-game slate ahead of us on this Wednesday night. The teams with the highest implied totals are as follows Golden State Warriors (118), Cleveland Cavaliers (118), and the Washington Wizards (117). The highest priced players on the slate are James Harden, Russell Westbrook, and Lebron James. Let’s dive into the slate:
Free Squares
- P.J. Tucker SF/PF HOU ($4,400)
- P.J. Tucker and the Houston Rockets will take on the Philadelphia 76ers on the road tonight. The Rockets have an implied total sitting at right around 112-points and they are currently 3.5-point favorites. The Rockets have been playing at a pace of right around 99.6 and the 76ers have been playing at a pace of right around 105.7. This will be a fast game tonight which should benefit all of the Rockets players production. Tucker will likely come off the bench which means he will be able to take advantage of a weak Philly defensive bench. Tucker has put together the following stats this season: 28.2 MPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.3 APG, .3 BLKPG, 1.0 STLPG, 8.0 PPG, 18.8 FPPG, and a .67 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 21.036 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 4.76x value. We have him slated to play right around 31 minutes. I am a little bit higher on Tucker than the Domination Station as I think he will have a solid game and exceed his value tonight. I think he will get plenty of minutes tonight and a lot of fantasy production opportunities. Load him up at either forward positions tonight on Draftkings as a solid value play.
- Rudy Gobert C UTA ($7,500)
- Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jazz will take on the Phoenix Suns tonight on the road. The Jazz have an implied total sitting at right around 105-points and they are currently 6.5-point favorites. The Jazz have been playing at a pace of right around 96.5 and the Suns have been playing at a pace of right around 109.6. This is quite the pace-up game for the Jazz tonight which should provide a lot of extra fantasy opportunities for Gobert tonight. Gobert will likely be matched up against Tyson Chandler who was an elite defender at one point but has slipped a bit as he has gotten older. He is the 6th best center defender on the slate tonight. Gobert has the following stats this season so far: 32.6 MPG, 10.8 RPG, 1.3 APG, 1.5 BLKPG, .8 STLPG, 14.0 PPG, 33.6 FPPG, and a 1.03 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 48.233 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.63x value. We have him slated to see right around 33 minutes tonight. I really like that projection from the Domination Station and I expect a big night out of Gobert tonight. He is going to be inline for a ton of rebounds and blocks tonight. Load him up as your center on Draftkings tonight.
- Mike James PG PHO ($4,400)
- Mike James and the Phoenix Suns will take on the Utah Jazz at home tonight. The Suns have an implied total 99-points they are currently 6.5 point underdogs. The Jazz have been playing at a pace of right around 96.5 and the Suns have been playing at a pace of right around 109.6. This will be a bit of a slower game for the Suns tonight but I still think James has the ability to exceed his value tonight. James will be matched up against Ricky Rubio who is the 5th best defender against point guards on the slate tonight. He has the following stats so far this season: 20.6 MPG, 1.8 RPG, 3.8 APG, .3 BLKPG, .5 STLPG, 13.3 PPG, 22.2 FPPG, and a 1.07 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we have James projected for right around 26.419 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 6x value. We have him slated for right around 27 minutes tonight. James has been a popular value play lately and I think he makes a great play again this week. Load him up as a value point guard 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 Rudy Gobert tonight! Good luck Army!
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