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 Spencer Dinwiddie who ended up with 50.25 DKFP which was good enough for right around 7.5x value. For our second free square of the night, we had Omri Casspi who ended up with 39.75 DKFP which was good enough for 11.4x value. For our final free square of the night, we had Karl Anthony-Towns who ended up with 69.50 which was good enough for right around 7.6x value.
Our members absolutely crushed it last night!
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Tonight
We have a huge sized slate ahead of us for Friday night. The teams with the highest implied totals of the night are as follows: Toronto Raptors (115), Denver Nuggets (113), and the New Orleans Pelicans (112). The highest priced players on the slate are Giannis Antetokounmpo, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden.
Free Squares
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson SF/PF BKN ($5,800)
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and the Brooklyn Nets will take on the Toronto Raptors tonight on the road. The Nets have an implied total sitting at right around 104-points and they are currently 12.0-point underdogs. The Nets have been playing at a pace of right around 105.1 and the Raptors have been playing at a pace of right around 101.2. This will be a pace down game for the Nets and RHJ tonight but they Raptors do not play slow by any means. RHJ is likely going to be matched up against Serge Ibaka who is an average defender. RHJ has the followings stats on the season so far this year: 27.6 MPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, .8 BLKPG, 1.0 STLPG, 14.9 PPG, 28.4 FPPG, and a 1.03 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 32.699 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.64x value. He is projected to play right around 34 minutes tonight. RHJ has kind of been a sneaky good fantasy player this season and I like the spot he is in tonight. Load him up as a moderately priced forward on Draftkings tonight.
- James Johnson SF/PF MIA ($5,900)
- James Johnson and the Miami Heat will take on the Charlotte Hornets on the road tonight. The Heat have an implied total sitting at right around 99-points and they are currently 5.0-point underdogs. The Heat have been playing at a pace of right around 98.8 and the Hornets have been playing at a pace of right around 102.7. This is going to be a significant pace up game for the Heat tonight which should give Johnson a decent sized fantasy boost tonight. James Johnson is likely going to be guarded by Marvin Williams tonight who is an average defender. I think he should be able to thrive in this matchup tonight. James Johnson has the following stats on the season so far this year: 28.0 MPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.2 APG, .7 BLKPG, 1.0 STLPG, 11.2 PPG, 26.9 FPPG, and a .96 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 32.965 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.59x value. He is projected to play right around 36 minutes. Johnson is going to play a ton of minutes tonight in what should be a close game. He has a decent matchup and this is going to be a faster game for the Heat tonight. Similar to Hollis-Jefferson load him up as a moderately priced forward tonight on Draftkings
- Bradley Beal SG WSH ($7,200)
- Bradley Beal and the Washington Wizards will take on the Los Angeles Clippers at home tonight. The Wizards have an implied total sitting at right around 109-points and they are currently 9.5-point favorites. The Wizards have been playing at a pace of right around 100.5 and the Clippers have been playing at a pace of right around 100.1. There is not much of a pace difference between these teams tonight. Beal is likely going to be guarded by CJ Williams who is a below average defender and a guy who I think Beal exposes tonight. Beal has the following stats on the season so far this year: 35.0 MPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.4 APG, .5 BLKPG, 1.1 STLPG, 23.8 PPG, 36.9 FPPG, and a 1.05 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 38.673 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.37x value. Beal is in a good spot tonight against a bad Clippers team tonight. He always plays a ton of minutes and he has a ton of upside potential tonight. Load Beal up as higher priced shooting guard tonight on Draftkings.
Free Square of the Night
We have a solid 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 Rondae Hollis-Jefferson tonight! Good luck Army!
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