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
Recap
Let’s take a look at how our free squares did last night. Our first free square of the night was Jeremy Lamb who ended up with right around 31.50 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 7.5x value. Our second free square of the night was Cameron Payne who ended up with right around 23.50 DKFP which was good enough for right around 5.0x value. Our final free square of the night was Nick Young who ended up with right around 11.50 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 2.3x value.
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Tonight
We have a decent slate ahead of us for Tuesday night. The teams with the highest implied totals are as follows: Minnesota Timberwolves (115), New Orleans Pelicans (114), and the Detroit Pistons (112). The highest priced players on the slate are Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, and James Harden.
- J.J. Barea PG/SG DAL ($4,800)
- J.J. Barea and the Dallas Mavericks will take on the New Orleans Pelicans on the road tonight. The Mavericks have an implied total sitting at right around 105-points and they are currently 8.5-point underdogs. The Mavericks have been playing at a pace of right around 98.7 and the Pelicans have been playing at a pace of right around 104.9. This is one of the slowest teams in the league going up against the fastest team in the league. This is a great fantasy spot for the Barea and the Mavericks tonight. Barea is likely going to be guarded by Rajon Rondo who is not a great defender at all. Barea has the following stats on the season so far this year: 23.2 MPG, 3.0 RPG, 6.3 APG, .5 STLPG, 11.5 PPG, 25.8 FPPG, and a 1.11 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 29.66 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 6.18x value. He is projected to play right around 26 minutes tonight. Barea has a great matchup tonight and I like his price. He has had a solid FPPM number and I like him as a mid-tier guard with upside tonight on Draftkings.
- Dewayne Dedmon PF/C ATL ($4,800)
- Dewayne Dedmon and the Atlanta Hawks will take on the Utah Jazz on the road tonight. The Hawks have an implied total sitting at right around 97-points and they are currently 14.0-point underdogs. The Hawks have been playing at a pace of right around 101.4 and the Jazz have been playing at a pace of right around 98.6. Slight pace down game for the Hawks and Dedmon tonight but I like his price tonight. He is likely going to be guarded by Rudy Gobert who is a solid defender. Dedmon has the following stats on the season so far this year: 24.0 MPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.4 APG, .8 BLKPG, .7 STLPG, 9.6 PPG, 23.7 FPPG, and a .99 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 26.843 DKFP which would be good enough for 5.59x value. He is projected to play right around 30 minutes tonight. I know it is a pace down game and a tough matchup but I still like Dedmon tonight. He is only priced at $4,800 and he is going to see a good amount of minutes. Combine that with a solid FPPM numbers makes Dedmon a solid forward or center on Draftkings tonight.
- Josh Jackson SG/SF PHO ($6,300)
- Josh Jackson and the Phoenix Suns will take on the Detroit Pistons tonight at home. The Suns have an implied total sitting at right around 106-points and they are currently 6.5-point underdogs. The Suns have been playing at a pace of right around 103.9 and the Pistons have been playing at a pace of right around 99.4. This is going to be a pace down game for the Suns tonight, but I still like the spot for Jackson tonight. He is likely going to be guarded by James Ennis who is not a great defender. He has the following stats on the season so far this year: 24.1 MPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.4 APG, .4 BLKPG, .9 STLPG, 12.1 PPG, 21.9 FPPG, and a .91 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 33.769 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.36x value. He is projected to play 35 minutes tonight. Jackson is going to play a ton of minutes tonight in a plus matchup. He makes a great play at either forward or guard tonight on Draftkings.
Free Square of the Night
We have a decent 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 J.J. Barea tonight! Good luck Army!
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