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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Recap
For our free squares last night we had Mike James who ended up with right around 27.25 DKFP which was good enough for right around 5.1x value. Our second free square was Hassan Whiteside who ended up with right around 11.15 DKFP which was good enough for right around 1.6x value. Our last free square of the night is John Collins who ended up with right around 8.75 DKFP which was good enough for right around 1.8x value.
Tonight
Finally we have a large slate on deck for tonight with 10-games. The teams with the highest implied totals are as follows Denver Nuggets (121), Cleveland Cavaliers (113), and the Washington Wizards (112). The highest priced players of the night are DeMarcus Cousins, Lebron James, and Anthony Davis.
Free Squares
- Donovan Mitchell PG/SG UTA ($4,600)
- Donovan Mitchell and the Utah Jazz will take on the Philadelphia 76ers tonight at home. The Jazz have an implied total sitting at right around 106-points and they are currently 6.5-point favorites. The Jazz have been playing at a pace 99.2 and the 76ers have been playing at a pace of right around 105.5. This is going to be a nice upgrade for the slow Jazz tonight as the 76ers play at a much quicker pace. Donovan Mitchell comes off the bench and I think he will be able to succeed as the 76ers have been giving up the 23rd most points given up this season. He has the following stats on the season so far this year: 24.4 MPG, 2.3 RPG, 2.4 APG, .6 BLKPG, 1.1 STLPG, 13.5 PPG, 23.1 FPPG, and a .94 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 27.834 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.95x value. We also have him slated for right around 30 minutes tonight. Mitchell has been filling up the stat sheet recently and the Jazz have rewarded him with more minutes. He is a solid rookie who can flat out score points. I love him as a nice value play with upside at the guard position on Draftkings tonight.
- Tyreke Evans SG/SF ($6,200)
- Tyreke Evans and the Memphis Grizzlies will take on the Portland Trailblazers on the road tonight. The Grizzlies have an implied total sitting at right around 99-points and they are currently 3.0-point favorites. The Grizzlies have been playing at a pace of right around 99.0 and the Trailblazers have been playing at a pace of right around 102.2. This will be a pace-up game for Evans tonight which should lead to some extra fantasy opportunities tonight. He will likely be coming off the bench tonight but that has not stopped him from filling up the stat sheet recently. He has the following stats on the season so far this year: 26.4 MPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.6 APG, .8 STLPG, 17.1 PPG, 29.5 FPPG, and a 1.17 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 31.851 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.14x value. We have Evans slated for right around 32 minutes tonight. Somewhat similar to Mitchell Evans has been a guy who has been on a scoring tear and I think I am going to continue to be on him at his price. He has a high FPPM and I think he also has a lot of upside potential tonight. Load him up as either a guard or forward on Draftkings tonight.
- Ben Simmons PG/SF PHI ($8,800)
- Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers will take on the Utah Jazz tonight on the road. The 76ers have an implied total sitting at right around 99-points and they are currently 6.5-point underdogs. The Jazz have been playing at a pace 99.2 and the 76ers have been playing at a pace of right around 105.5. We have a pace-down game for the 76ers tonight, but I think that will be counteracted by Simmons due to his increased usage due to injuries. He will likely be matched up against Joe Ingles tonight who is not a defender who can lock up Simmons. Simmons has the following numbers so far this season: 35.1 MPG, 9.8 RPG, 8.2 APG, .7 BLKPG, 1.6 STLPG, 18.0 PPG, 46.9 FPPG, and a 1.34 FPPM. Taing a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 42.715 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 4.77x value. He is projected to play right around 35 minutes. I am higher on Simmons tonight than the Domination Station. It looks like the 76ers are going to have some injuries tonight which opens up a ton of usage for Simmons tonight. The Jazz are a tough team to play against but Simmons fills up the stat sheet in so many ways I think he exceeds value tonight. Load him up at either a guard or forward tonight on Draftkings.
Free Square of the Night
We finally have a decent sized slate 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 Donovan Mitchell tonight! Good luck Army!
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