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!)
Recap
Let’s take a look at how the free squares did from last night. Our first free square of the night was Mario Hezonja who ended up with 15 DKFP which was good enough for right around 3.2x value. Our second free square of the night was Frank Mason who ended up getting 12.75 which is good enough for right around 3.2x value. Our final free square of the night was Julius Randle who ended up with 6.25 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 1.2x value.
Tonight
We have a shorter slate ahead of us for Thursday night. The teams with the highest implied totals of the night are as follows: Cleveland Cavaliers (113), Toronto Raptors (111), and the Philadelphia 76ers (108). The highest priced players on the slate are LeBron James, Joel Embiid, and Ben Simmons.
Free Squares
- Jerryd Bayless PG/SG PHI ($3,700)
- Jerryd Bayless and the Philadelphia 76ers will take on the Toronto Raptors tonight at home tonight. The 76ers have an implied total sitting at right around 108-points and they are currently 3.0-point underdogs. The 76ers have been playing at a pace of right around 105.6 and the Raptors have been playing at a pace of right around 101.2. This is going to be a pace down game for the 76ers but I don’t think it will matter because both of these teams are top 10 in pace in the league. He is going to be guarded by Kyle Lowry tonight who is a solid defender. He has the following stats on the season so far this year: 26.0 MPG, 2.4 RPG, 1.6 APG, .2 BLKPG, .7 STLPG, 9.3 PPG, 16.6 FPPG, and a .64 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 20.957 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.66x value. He is projected to play right around 34 minutes. It is a tougher matchup for Bayless tonight but he is at a bottom-barrel price tonight. He is going to play a ton of minutes tonight in what should be an uptempo game. Load him up as a value guard on Draftkings tonight.
- David Nwaba PG/SG CHI ($4,200)
- David Nwaba and the Chicago Bulls will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight on the road. The Bulls have an implied total sitting at right around 102-points and they are currently 10.5-points underdogs.. The Bulls have been playing at a pace of right around 100.4 and the Cavaliers have been playing at a pace of right around 100.1. Both of these teams play at virtually the same pace. Nwaba is most likely going to be coming off the bench which is good for him as the Cavs do not have a ton of great bench defenders. He has the followings stats for the season so far this year: 23.5 MPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.6 APG, .7 BLKPG, .8 STLPG, 8.1 PPG, 19.8 FPPG, and a .842 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 22.191 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.29x value. He is projected to play right around 28 minutes. Nwaba is a guy who can fill up the stat sheet in a lot of different categories and I like his price and matchup tonight. Load him up as a value guard on Draftkings tonight.
- JaMychal Green SF/PF MEM ($4,600)
- JaMychal Green and the Memphis Grizzlies will take on the Phoenix Suns on the road tonight. The Grizzlies have an implied total sitting at right around 103-points and they are currently 3.0-point favorites. The Grizzlies have been playing at a pace of right around 96.4 and the Suns have been playing at a pace of right around 105.1. This is going to be a significant pace up game for the Grizzlies who are the slowest team in the league going up against one of the fastest teams in the league. Green is likely going to be guarded by Marquese Chriss who is a decent defender. He has the following stats on the season so far this year: 28.0 MPG, 6.4 RPG, 1.2 APG, .2 BLKPG, .5 STLPG, 9.5 PPG, 20.4 FPPG, and a .73 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 26.744 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.82x value. He is projected to play for right around 31 minutes tonight. Green has been getting a lot of minutes lately and I think that will continue tonight. He is very cheap tonight and should be able to crush value tonight in an uptempo game. Load him up as a value forward on Draftkings tonight.
Free Square of the Night
We have a smaller 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 Jerryd Bayless 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!
