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
Let’s take a look at our free squares from last night. Our first free square of the night was Andrew Harrison who ended up with 22.50 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.5x value. Our second free square of the night was Wayne Ellington who ended up with right around 34.0 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 8.7x value. Our final free square of the night was Derrick Favors who ended up with right around 30.50 DKFP which would be good enough right around 5.2x value.
Tonight
We have a huge slate ahead of us for Wednesday night. The teams with the highest implied totals of the night are as follows: New Orleans Pelicans (116), Cleveland Cavaliers (110), and the Minnesota Timberwolves (110). The highest priced players on the slate are Lebron James, Demarcus Cousins, and Russell Westbrook.
Free Squares
- George Hill PG/SG SAC ($4,500)
- George Hill and the Sacremento Kings will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers at home tonight. The Kings have an implied total sitting at right around 100-points and they are currently 9.5-point underdogs. The Kings have been playing at a pace of right around 97.7 and the Cavaliers have been playing at a pace of right around 99.8. This is going to be a slight pace-up game for the Kings tonight which should benefit Hill and the rest of the Kings tonight. Hill is likely going to be guarded by Jose Calderon is a below average defender and I guy he shouldn’t have any trouble scoring on tonight. He has the following stats on the season so far this year: 26.4 MPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.8 APG, .3 BLKPG, .9 STLPG, 10.1 PPG, 20.5 FPPG, and a .78 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station 24.502 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.45x value. He is projected to play right around 32 minutes. It is looking like De’Aaron Fox is going to be out again which should mean more opportunities for Hill tonight. He has a great price and a great matchup tonight which makes him a solid value guard option on Draftkings tonight.
- Jordan Clarkson PG/SG LAL ($5,600)
- Jordan Clarkson and the Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Memphis Grizzlies at home tonight. The Lakers have an implied total sitting at right around 101-points and they are currently 2.5-point favorites. The Lakers have been playing at a pace of right around 106.5 and the Grizzlies have been playing at right around 96.5. This is a game between the fastest and slowest teams in the league. In saying that I still like the spot that Clarkson is in tonight. He is most likely going to be guarded by Andrew Harrison tonight who is a below average defender who I expect Clarkson to dominate tonight. He has the following stats on the season so far this year: 22.3 MPG, 2.9 RPG, 3.1 APG, .7 STLPG, 14.0 PPG, 23.4 FPPG, and a 1.05 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 33.37 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.96x value. He is projected for right around 34 minutes. Lonzo is likely going to be out tonight which means a ton of opportunity and a ton of minutes for Clarkson tonight. He has a great FPPM number and a great matchup tonight at an affordable price. Load him up a mid-tier guard with a ton of upside tonight.
- Steven Adams C OKC ($5,900)
- Steven Adams and the Oklahoma City Thunder will take on the Toronto Raptors tonight at home. The Thunder have an implied total of sitting at right around 107-points and they are currently 3.5-point favorites. The Thunder have been playing at a pace of right around 99.5 and the Raptors have been playing at a pace of right around 101.4. This is going to be a nice pace up game for the Thunder tonight and should provide some extra fantasy opportunities. He is likely going to be guarded by Jonas Valanciunas who is a terrible defender. This is a great matchup for Adams tonight. He has the following stats on the season so far this year: 32.2 MPG, 8.9 RPG, .9 APG, 1.0 BLKPG, 1.2 STLPG, 13.7 PPG, 30.2 FPPG, and a .94 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 32.419 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.69x value. He is projected to play right around 34 minutes tonight. Adams has been a sneaky good DFS player this year on a team loaded with big names.” He has a great matchup tonight at a really affordable price. Load him up as a mid-tier center on Draftkings tonight.
Free Square of the Night
We have a decent 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 George Hill tonight! Good luck Army!
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