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 our free squares from last night. Our first free square of the night was Rudy Gobert who got injured ended up with right around 39.50 DKFP which was good enough for right around 5.3x value. Our second free square of the night was Jabari Parker who ended up with right around 31.50 DKFP which was good enough for right around 6.3x value. Our final free square of the night was Donovan Mitchell who ended up with right around 33.75 DKFP which was good enough for right around 4.4x value.
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Tonight
We have a solid slate ahead of us for Friday night. The teams with the highest implied totals are as follows: New Orleans Pelicans (115), Philadelphia 76ers (114), and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The highest priced players on the slate are Anthony Davis, LeBron James, and Karl-Anthony Town.
- Marshon Brooks SG MEM ($5,200)
- Marshon Brooks and the Memphis Grizzlies will take on the Sacremento Kings at home tonight. The Grizzlies have an implied total sitting at right around 100-points and they are currently 3.5-point underdogs. The Grizzlies have been playing at a pace of right around 98.1 and the Kings have been playing at a total sitting at right around 98.3. Both of these teams play at relatively the same pace. Brooks is likely going to be coming off the bench but he should see enough minutes and action to exceed his value tonight. He has the following stats on the season so far this year: 25.1 MPG, 2.0 RPG, .3 BLKPG, 3.7 APG, 1.7 STLPG, 23.3 PPG, 35.5 FPPG, and a 1.41 FPPM. Take these numbers lightly though as Brooks has only played in 3-games. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 33.9 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 6.52x value. He is projected to play right around 32 minutes. Brooks has played well in his last couple of games and he should see enough run tonight where I think he will crush his value. Load him up as a mid-tier shooting guard with upside tonight on Draftkings.
- Rajon Rondo PG NOR ($6,600)
- Rajon Rondo and the New Orleans Pelicans will take on the Phoenix Suns on the road tonight. The Pelicans have an implied total sitting at right around 115-points and they are currently 11.0-point favorites. The Pelicans have been playing at a pace of right around 104.8 and the Suns have been playing at a pace of right around 103.6. This is a great game to target for fantasy purposes as these are two of the fastest 3 teams in the league. Rondo is likely going to be guarded by Tyler Ulis who is an awful defender. Rondo has the following stats on the season so far this year: 26.1 MPG, 4.0 RPG, 8.0 APG, .2 BLKPG, 1.0 STLPG, 8.1 PPG, 27.2 FPPG, and a 1.04 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 33.151 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 5.02x value. He is projected to play right around 29 minutes tonight. Rondo has a great matchup tonight in what should be a pace-up high scoring game. Load him up as a mid-tier priced point guard on Draftkings tonight.
- Ivan Rabb PF/C MEM ($4,000)
- Ivan Rabb and the Memphis Grizzlies will take on the Sacremento Kings at home tonight. The Grizzlies have an implied total sitting at right around 100-points and they are currently 3.5-point underdogs. The Grizzlies have been playing at a pace of right around 98.1 and the Kings have been playing at a total sitting at right around 98.3. Like I talked about in the Brooks write-up Both of these teams play at relatively the same pace so no advantage either way there. Rabb is likely going to be guarded by Justin Jackson tonight who is a terrible defender. Rabb should be able to have a nice offensive outing against him tonight. Rabb had the following stats on the season so far this year: 12.6 MPG, 3.9 RPG, .7 APG, .2 BLKPG, .3 STLPG, 5.0 PPG, 11.6 FPPG, and a .92 FPPM. Taking a look at our Domination Station we can see that we have a projection of right around 31.157 DKFP which would be good enough for right around 7.79x value. He is projected to play right around 32 minutes tonight. You’re probably going to be playing a lot of Grizzlies tonight and Rabb may be my favorite of the bunch. Load him up as a cheap forward or center will tremendous upside on Draftkings.
Free Square of the Night
We have a solid 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 Ivan Rabb tonight! Good luck Army!
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