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 huge sized slate ahead of us for Monday night. The teams with the highest implied totals of the night are as follows: Houston Rockets (114), Golden State Warriors (112), and the Dallas Mavericks (109). The highest priced players on the slate are Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden.
Free Squares
- Robert Covington SF/PF PHI ($6,300)
- Robert Covington and the Philadelphia 76ers will take on the Chicago Bulls on the road tonight. The 76ers have an implied total sitting at right around 105-points and they are currently 1.5-point favorites. The 76ers have been playing at a pace of right around 105.6 and the Bulls have been playing at a pace of right around 100.0. This is going to be a pace down game for the 76ers and Covington tonight, but I still like the spot he is in tonight. It is going to be interesting to see who Covington is going to be matched up with tonight. There is really no one on the Bulls who I fear if they are matching up with Covington. RoCo has the following stats on the season so far this year: 32.5 MPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.9 APG, .8 BLKPG, 1.7 STLPG, 15.1 PPG, 31.8 FPPG, and a .98 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 34.231 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.43x value. He is projected to play right around 36 minutes tonight. Embiid is out for the 76ers tonight which is going to open up a huge amount of opportunities for the rest of the team tonight. I like Covington likely benefits quite a bit and he is going to see a ton of minutes tonight. Load him up as a mid-tier forward with a ton of upside on Draftkings tonight.
- Omri Casspi SF/PF GSW ($4,100)
- Omri Casspi and the Golden State Warriors will take on the Los Angeles Lakers on the road tonight. The Warriors have an implied total sitting at right around 112-points and they are currently 5.5-point favorites. The Warriors have been playing at a pace of right around 104.1 and the Lakers have been playing at a pace of right around 106.7. The is going to be a pace up game for the Warriors tonight who already play at one of the quickest paces in the league. This game is going to be a fantasy goldmine. Casspi is likely going to be matched up against Larry Nance Jr. tonight who is a solid defender. Even with a tougher matchup I still like the spot that Casspi is in overall tonight. He has the following stats on the season so far this year: 15.2 MPG, 4.3 RPG, 1.1 APG, .6 BLKPG, .3 STLPG, 6.4 PPG, 15.0 FPPG, and a .99 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 27.239 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 6.64x value. He is projected for right around 28 minutes tonight. Ton of guys out for the Warriors tonight which means a lot of production open for other guys tonight. I think Casspi should crush his value tonight and make a solid forward value play on Draftkings tonight.
- Kemba Walker PG CHA ($7,100)
- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Hornets will take on the New York Knicks at home tonight. The Hornets have an implied total sitting at right around 107-points and they are currently 6.5-point favorites. The Hornets have been playing at a pace of right around 102.7 and the Knicks have been playing at a pace of right around 99.6. Slight pace down game for the Hornets tonight but I think Kemba is still in a great spot. Kemba is likely going to be matched up against Jarret Jack tonight who is a guy he should have no trouble exposing tonight. He has the following stats for the season so far this year: 35.3 MPG, 3.8 RPG, 6.0 APG, .2 BLKPG, .9 STLPG, 21.9 PPG, 38.1 FPPG, and a 1.08 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 38.077 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.36x value. He is projected to play right around 34 minutes. Kemba has kind of been an under the radar guy this year with regards to NBA DFS. I like his price and matchup tonight and think he makes a solid option as a mid-tier point guard 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 Robert Covinton tonight! Good luck Army!
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