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 a short 3-game slate ahead of us for Monday night. The teams with the highest implied totals are as follows Golden State Warriors (121), Phoenix Suns (119), and the Brooklyn Nets (116). The highest priced players of the night are Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, and Kyrie Irving.
Free Squares
- Mike James PG PHO ($5,300)
- Mike James and the Phoenix Suns will take on the Brooklyn Nets at home tonight. The Suns have an implied total sitting at right around 119-points and they are currently 1.0-point favorites. The Suns have been playing at a pace of right around 106.9 and the Nets play at the fastest pace in the league at right around 110.3. This will be a pace-up game for the Suns which should bode well for all the Suns tonight. James will likely to be matched up against D’Angelo Russell who is a negative defender. Mike James has the following stats on the season so far this year: 23.3 MPG, 2.8 RPG, 4.3 APG, .4 BLKPG, 1.0 STLPG, 11.3 PPG, 23.8 MPG, and a 1.02 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we have a projection of right around 31.431 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.93x value. The Domination Station loves James tonight and so do I. I think this is a fantastic matchup for him at a fantastic price tonight. Load him up as your point guard on Draftkings tonight.
- Hassan Whiteside C MIA ($7,000)
- Hassan Whiteside and the Miami Heat will take on the Golden State Warriors tonight on the road. The Heat have an implied total sitting at right around 105-points and they are currently 15.5-point underdogs. The Heat have been playing at a pace of right around 101.8 and the Warriors have been playing at a pace of right around 104.5. Whiteside will benefit from the uptempo game tonight and have plenty of extra fantasy opportunities. He will likely be matched up against Zaza Pachulia who is a pretty solid defender but one I think Whiteside can still be able to exceed his value against. Whiteside has the following numbers on the season so far this season: 29.3 MPG, 14.0 RPG, .8 APG, 1.3 BLKPG, 1.5 STLPG, 18.3 PPG, 42.9 FPPG, and a 1.46 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 39.54 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.55x value. He is slated to play right around 29 minutes. I am expecting a solid game for Whiteside tonight despite the matchup. I think he is priced too low tonight and always has a ton of upside when he steps on the court. Load him up as your center on Draftkings tonight.
- John Collins PF/C ATL ($5,000)
- John Collins and the Atlanta Hawks will take on the Boston Celtics tonight at home. The Hawks have an implied total sitting at right around 98-points and they are currently 8.0-point underdogs. The Hawks have been playing at a pace of right around 103.9 and the Celtics have been playing at a pace of right around 99.1. This will be a pace-down game for the Hawks tonight. Collins will likely be coming off the bench which will be a benefit him as he won’t see the tough Celtics starting front-court. He has the following numbers on the season so far this year: 20.4 MPG, 8.3 RPG, .7 APG, 1.3 BLKPG, .5 STLPG, 10.7 PPG, 25.5 FPPG, and a 1.25 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that Collins has a projection of right around 28.845 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.77x value. We have him slated to play right around 25 minutes. When Collins gets minutes he has shown he can put up a ton of fantasy points. I think the Hakws are going to need to get him more minutes and I think he can crush his value tonight. Load him up as a mid-tier forward or center 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 Mike James tonight! Good luck Army!
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