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 Jusuf Nurkic who ended up netting us right around 24.00 DKFP which was good enough for right around 3.9x value. Another one of our free squares was Dennis Smith Jr. who ended up with right around 30.25 DKFP which was good enough for right around 5.6x value. Finally our last free square was Damian Lillard who managed to put to up 38 DKFP which was good enough for right around 4.5x value.
Congrats to DFS Army VIP Member @ccanelho for Winning $53,333.33!
Sign up for a DFS ARMY VIP MEMBERSHIP today!
Tonight
We have a solid 7-game slate ahead of us on this Friday night. The teams with the highest implied totals are as follows Golden State Warriors (121), Toronto Raptors (114), and the New York Knicks (114). The highest priced players on the slate are Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and John Wall. Let’s dive into the slate:
Free Squares
- Spencer Dinwiddie PG/SG BKN ($5,200)
- Spencer Dinwiddie and the Brooklyn Nets will take on the New York Knicks on the road tonight. The Nets have an implied run total sitting at right around 109-points and they are currently 2.0-point underdogs. The Nets have been playing at a pace of right around 110.8 and the Knicks are playing at a pace of right around 100.2. This will be a pace-down game for the Nets but they play but I don’t think it will affect Dinwiddie tonight. Dinwiddie comes off the bench and I do not really fear any of the Knicks defenders that he will be going up against. He has the following stats on the season: 21.6 MPG, 3.6 RPG, 4.8 APG, .8 STLPG, 10.2 PPG, 23.5 FPPG, and a 1.09 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 27.464 DKFP which is good enough for right around 5.17x value. He is slated to see right around 30 minutes tonight. Dinwiddie has a high FPPM this season and if he gets the minutes tonight I think he will crush value. Load him up as an affordable guard on Draftkings tonight.
- Jamal Murray PG/SG DEN ($4,500)
- Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets will take on the Atlanta Hawks on the road tonight. The Nuggets have an implied total sitting at right around 108-points and they are currently 7.0-point favorites. The Nuggets have been playing at a pace right at right around 98.6 and the Hawks have been playing at a pace right around 103.0. This will be a pace-up game for the Nuggets which bodes well for Murray tonight. He gets a matchup tonight against Dennis Schroder tonight who is the 13th worst point guard defender on the slate tonight. He has the following stats on the season so far: 25.3 MPG, 2.5 RPG, 3.8 APG, .3 BLKPG, .5 STLPG, 8.5 PPG, 18.3 FPPG, and a .72 FPPM. Taking a look at the Domination Station we have a projection of right around 26.69 DKFP which is good enough for right around 5.79x value. He is slated for right around 28 minutes. Murray has a great matchup, pace-up game, and an affordable price. I love him as a value guard on Draftkings tonight.
- Dwight Howard C CHA ($7,100)
- Dwight Howard and the Charlotte Hornets will take on the Houston Rockets at home tonight. The Hornets have an implied total sitting at right around 106-points and they are currently 3.0-point favorites. The Hornets have been playing at a pace right at right around 102.6 and the Rockets have been playing at a pace right around 100.4. This will be a slight pace-down game for the Hornets which shouldn’t be that big of a problem for Howard tonight. He gets a matchup tonight against Clint Capela who is the 10th worst defender against centers tonight. Dwight has the following stats on the season so far this year: 31.2 MPG, .5 APG, 2.3 BLKPG, .3 STLPG, 13.3 PPG, 40.1 FPPG, and a 1.29 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we have a projection for Dwight at right around 40.178 DKFP which is good enough for right around 5.54x value. Dwight is slated for right around 31 minutes. I think Dwight is a little underpriced tonight and he has a great matchup tonight. I expect a big game out of Dwight against one of his former teams tonight. Load him up as a center tonight at Draftkings.
Free Square of the Night
This is a medium-sized slate but one I think we can still find an edge on. 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 Dwight Howard tonight! Good luck Army!
Do you want access to the most advanced Daily Fantasy Basketball tools in the industry? How about the chance to talk player picks and lineups with our NBA DFS Pros and like-minded players? DFS Army VIP Members get all of that PLUS access to our best in the industry projections and optimization tools. Go to DFS Army VIP membership and join the Army today! You won’t find a better deal or a better DFS team to join!
