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!)
Tonight
We have a good size slate ahead of us for Monday night. The teams with the highest implied totals are as follows Houston Rockets (122), Philadelphia 76ers (114), and the Golden State Warriors (113). The highest priced players of the night are James Harden, Lebron James, and Joel Embiid.
Free Squares
- Omri Casspi SF/PF GSW ($3,900)
- Omri Casspi and the Golden State Warriors will take on the Sacramento Kings tonight at home. The Warriors have an implied total sitting at right around 110-points and they are currently 13.0-point favorites. The Warriors have been playing at a pace of right around 105.3 and the Kings have been playing at a pace of right around 98.1. This will be a slower game for the Warriors tonight but the matchup is good enough for Casspi tonight that I don’t think it will affect him too much. Casspi is likely going to be matched up against Garrett Temple tonight who is someone that Casspi shouldn’t have a problem with. Casspi has the following stats on the season so far this year: 12.5 MPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.0 APG, .6 BLKPG, .4 STLPG, 5.8 PPG, 13.8 FPPG, and a 1.10 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 26.019 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 6.85x value. He is slated for 25 minutes right now. Casspi is playing his old team tonight and is going to get a good amount of minutes due to injuries. I think he crushes his value and puts up a decent number tonight. Load him up as a value forward on Draftkings tonight.
- Harrison Barnes SF/PF DAL ($5,500)
- Harrison Barnes and the Dallas Mavericks will take on the San Antonio Spurs on the road tonight. The Mavericks have an implied total sitting at right around 92-points and they are currently 10.0-point underdogs. The Mavericks have been playing at a pace of right around 99.5 and the Spurs have been playing at a pace of right around 98.0. Neither of these teams plays at a high-pace so it shouldn’t be much of a factor tonight. Barnes is likely going to be matched up against Kyle Anderson tonight who is an above average defender. Barnes has been averaging the following stats so far this season: 35.2 MPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.7 APG, .2 BLKPG, .7 STLPG, 19.2 PPG, 32.4 FPPG, and a .92 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 32.287 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.87x value. He is projected to see roughly 37 minutes. The Mavericks have not been good at all this season, but Barnes has put together a solid year. He gets all the minutes he can handle and has a solid FPPM. I think he is a little underpriced tonight and he makes a great play at forward tonight on Draftkings.
- Chris Paul PG/SG HOU ($7,900)
- Chris Paul and the Houston Rockets will take on the Brooklyn Nets tonight at home. The Rockets have an implied total sitting at right around 122-points and they are currently 17.5-point favorites. The Rockets have been playing at a pace of right around 102.3 and the Nets have been playing at a pace of right around 106.6. Both these teams play fast and the Rockets and Paul will get a nice little pace boost tonight. Chris Paul is likely going to be matched up against Spencer Dinwiddie who is a solid defender. I think Paul will still have no problem reaching value though regardless. Chris Paul has the following stats on the season so far this year: 27.2 MPG, 3.6 RPG, 10.2 APG, .4 BLKPG, 2.2 STLPG, 12.2 PPG, 38.4 FPPG, and a 1.41 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 48.685 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 6.16x value. He is slated for right around 32 minutes. The Domination Station loves Paul tonight and I am also on board. This is going to be a fast game which should really benefit Paul. He has a great FPPM and is still relatively cheap. Load him up in the guard spot on Draftkings tonight.
Free Square of the Night
We have a decent sized 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 Omri Casspi 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!
