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
(Sign up for a DFS ARMY VIP MEMBERSHIP today!)
Recap
We had Goran Dragic for one of our free squares last night and he ended up with 32.50 DKFP which was good enough for right around 5x value. For our second free square, we had T.J. McConnell who ended up with right around 28.75 which was good enough for right around 6.5x value. Our final free square was Nikola Vucevic who ended up with right around 35 DKFP which was good enough for right around 4.9x value.
Tonight
We have a really short 4-game slate ahead of us for Halloween tonight. The teams with the highest implied totals are as follows Brooklyn Nets (118), Phoenix Suns (116), and the Indiana Pacers (113). The highest priced players of the night are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Russell Westbrook, and Andre Drummond.
Free Squares
- Andre Drummond C DET ($8,200)
- Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons will take on the Los Angeles Lakers on the road tonight. The Pistons have an implied total sitting right around 106-points and they are currently 4.0-point favorites. The Pistons have been playing at a pace of right around 100.1 and the Lakers have played at the highest pace in the league at 108.6. This will be an extreme pace-up game for Drummond tonight which should bode well for his fantasy production. He is likely going to be matched up against Brook Lopez tonight who is one of the worst defensive centers on the slate tonight. Drummond has the following stats on the season so far this year: 32.3 MPG, 14.4 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.1 BLKPG, 2.3 STLPG, 12.9 PPG, 41.1 FPPG, and a 1.27 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 44.335 DKFP which is good enough for right around 5.24x value. we have him slated for right around 32 minutes tonight. I love Drummond tonight and I expect him to be pretty highly owned. He has a great matchup, pace-up game, and is still at a pretty affordable price. Load him up as your center on Draftkings tonight.
- T.J.Warren SF/PF PHO ($5,200)
- T.J. Warren and the Phoenix Suns will take on the Brooklyn Nets on the road tonight. The Suns have an implied total sitting at right around 116-points and they are currently 5.0 underdogs. The Suns have been playing at a pace of right around 108.0 and the Nets have been playing at a pace of right around 108.4. This is going to be a slight pace-up game against the 2nd and 3rd fastest teams in the league. This should be good for Warren tonight and all the players who are going to be playing in this speedy game. T.J. Warren looks like he will be matched up against Demarre Carroll who is a solid defender but I think Warren will okay due to the fast-paced nature of this game. He has the following stats on the season so far this year: 27.5 MPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.5 APG, .7 BLKPG, .8 STLPG, 14.0 PPG, 24.8 FPPG, and .90 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 28.725 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.44x value. We also have him slated for right around 27 minutes. I agree with the projection from the Domination Station tonight and think Warren has a great shot to exceed his value tonight. It is kind of hard to find value tonight and I like Warren as an affordable forward tonight.
- Darren Collison PG IND ($6,000)
- Darren Collison and the Indiana Pacers will take on the Sacramento Kings tonight at home. The Pacers have an implied total sitting at right around 113-points and they are currently 5.0-point favorites. The Pacers have been playing at a pace of right around 104.6 and the Kings have been playing at a pace of right around 98.7. This will be a pace-down game for Collison tonight but one I still like the overall spot he is in tonight. He is likely to be matched up against George Hill who is one of the better point-guard defenders but the Kings have been ranked 14th defensively on the year against point guards. Collison has put up the following numbers so far this season: 33.2 MPG, 3.3 RPG, 8.0 APG, .2 BLKPG, 1.5 STLPG, 14.3 PPG, 33.9 FPPG, and 1.02 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection sitting at right around 32.181 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.28x value. He is slated to get right around 33 minutes. Collison has been quietly a solid fantasy player this year and can fill up the stat sheet in a number of different ways. I love his price tonight and think he makes a solid mid-tier point guard option tonight on 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 Nikola Vucevic 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!
