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 how our free squares did last night. Our first free square of the night was Rajon Rondo who ended up with 23 DKFP which was good enough for right around 3.6x value. Our second free square of the night was Kyle Kuzma who ended up with right around 43 DKFP which was good enough for right around 7x value. Our final free square of the night was Isaiah Thomas who ended up with right around 30.75 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.1x value.
Tonight
We have a decent slate ahead of us for Thursday night. The teams with the highest implied totals are as follows: Oklahoma City Thunder (120), Golden State Warriors (116), and the Charlotte Hornets (112). The highest priced players on the slate are Russell Westbrook, Joel Embiid, and Stephen Curry.
- D’Angelo Russell PG/SG BKN ($6,700)
- D’Angelo Russell and the Brooklyn Nets will take on the Charlotte Hornets on the road tonight. The Nets have an implied total sitting at right around 105-points and they are currently 6.5-point underdogs. The Nets have been playing at a pace of right around 102.8 and the Hornets have been playing at a pace of right around 101.4. This is going to be a slight pace down game for the Nets tonight but the Hornets play at a decent pace. Russell is likely going to be guarded by Nicolas Batum who is a decent defender. Russell has the following stats on the season so far this year: 25.2 MPG, 3.7 RPG, 5.0 APG, .2 BLKPG, .7 STLPG, 15.6 PPG, 29.0 FPPG, and a 1.15 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 33.823 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.05x value. He is projected to play 32 minutes tonight. Russell has a solid FPPM number and he is finally getting some solid minutes in Brooklyn. Load him up at either guard position on Draftkings tonight.
- Nemanja Bjelica SF/PF MIN ($5,200)
- Nemanja Bjelica and the Minnesota Timberwolves will take on the Boston Celtics at home tonight. The Timberwolves have an implied total sitting at right around 108-points and they are currently 2.5-point underdogs. The Timberwolves have been playing at a pace of right around 99.5 and the Boston Celtics have been playing at a pace of right around 99.6. These teams play at virtually the same pace. Bjelica is likely going to be guarded by Jayson Tatum tonight who is a pretty solid defender. Bjelica has the following stats on the season so far this year: 17.2 MPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.0 APG, .2 BLKPG, .6 STLPG, 6.1 PPG, 13.8 FPPG, and a .80 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 26.295 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.05x value. He is projected to play right around 34 minutes tonight. Bjelica should see a ton of minutes tonight and he has been very consistent in his last 5 games. Load him up as a mid-tier forward on Draftkings tonight.
- Justise Winslow SF/PF MIA ($4,500)
- Justise Winslow and the Miami Heat will take on the Philadelphia 76ers tonight at home tonight. The Heat have an implied total sitting at right around 105-points and they are currently 1.0-point favorites. The Heat have been playing at a pace of right around 98.7 and the 76ers have been playing at a pace of right around 102.9. This is going to be a significant pace up game for the Heat and Winslow tonight. Winslow is likely going to be guarded by Dario Saric tonight who is just an average to below average defender. He has the following stats on the season so far this year: 23.5 MPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.1 APG, .5 BLKPG, .8 STLPG, 6.9 PPG, 19.1 FPPG, and a .81 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 23.603 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.25x value. He is projected to play right around 29 minutes tonight. Winslow has a nice price, solid matchup, and a is playing in a pace up game tonight. He makes a nice value play at forward 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 Nemanja Bjelica tonight! Good luck Army!
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