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
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Tonight
We have an absolute monster slate ahead of us for this Wednesday night. The teams with the highest implied totals are as follows Cleveland Cavaliers (119), Houston Rockets (118), and the Golden State Warriors (114). The highest priced players of the night are Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and James Harden.
Free Squares
- Eric Bledsoe PG/SG MIL ($6,500)
- Eric Bledsoe and the Milwaukee Bucks will take on the Phoenix Suns tonight on the road tonight. The Bucks have an implied total sitting at right around 110-points and they are currently 1.0-point favorites. The Bucks have been playing at a pace of right around 98.4 and the Suns have been playing at one of the fastest paces in the league at right around 107.5. This is going to be a significant pace-up game for the Bucks tonight which should greatly benefit Bledsoe. Bledsoe is most likely going to be matched up against Tyler Ulis tonight who is one of the worst guard defenders on the board tonight. Bledsoe has the following numbers on the season so far: 28.3 MPG, 3.7 RPG, 4.0 APG, 9 BLKPG, 1.8 STLPG, 13.3 PPG, 28.3 FPPG, 1.0 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that Bledsoe has a projection of right around 37.394 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.75x value. He is slated to see right around 34 minutes tonight. Not only is this an almost perfect matchup on paper for Bledsoe tonight he also is in a revenge game. I think Bledsoe goes off for a big score tonight against his former team. Load him up at either guard position tonight.
- DeMarcus Cousins PF/C NOP ($10,300)
- DeMarcus Cousins and the New Orleans Pelicans will take on the San Antonio Spurs tonight at home. The Pelicans have an implied right around 104-points and they are currently 1.0-point favorites. The Pelicans have been playing at a pace of right around 103.7 and the Spurs have been playing at a pace of right around 97.8. This will be a slower game for Boogie and the Pelicans tonight. Boogie is likely to be matched up against Pau Gasol who is an okay defender, but I think Boogie will be able to handle him tonight. Boogie has the following stats on the season so far this year: 36.1 MPG, 12.9 MPG, 5.5 APG, 1.4 BLKPG, 1.8 STLPG, 26.6 FPPG, 57.5 FPPG, and 1.59 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 56.736 DKFP which would be good enough 5.51x value. He is slated to see right around 37 minutes. I like Boogie’s price and matchup tonight. I think he makes a solid play at either forward or center tonight.
- Spencer Dinwiddie PG/SG BKN ($6,300)
- Spencer Dinwiddie and the Brooklyn Nets will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight on the road tonight. The Nets have an implied total sitting at right around 108 and they are currently 10.5-point underdogs. The Nets have been playing at a pace of right around 107.9 and the Cavs have been playing at a pace of right around 102.1. This will be a slight pace down game for the Nets, but the Cavs play at a relatively fast pace themselves. Dinwiddie is likely to be guarded by Jose Calderon tonight in a matchup that I think he can exploit. He has the following stats on the season thus far: 24.2 MPG, 3.0 RPG, 5.7 RPG, .1 BLKPG, .9 STLPG, 11.7 PPG, 25.0 FPPG, and a 1.03 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 35.159 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.5x value. He is slated to see right around 33 minutes tonight. Dinwiddie has been one of my favorite free squares this year and I like him again tonight. If Brooklyn can keep this game semi-close he should be able to crush value. Load him up at either guard position on Draftkings tonight.
Free Square of the Night
We have a huge slate tonight with some good tournaments across the industry. 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 Eric Bledsoe tonight! Good luck Army!
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