Prime-Time First TD Bets — Monday Night Football, Week 16
Alex Christenson
When it comes to making money in the DFS industry, there’s no such thing as too many outlets. So, when a new opportunity arises, we want to take advantage of it. That’s exactly what we’ve been presented with lately with the newest partner of FTN, StatHero.
StatHero is a healthy mix of DFS and the idea of a sportsbook in the sense that you are building a lineup with a salary cap, similar to the traditional DFS structure, but instead of competing against thousands of other entries, you’re competing against the “book”. The book, in this case, is a pre-generated lineup that you need to beat. To get all of the ins and outs of StatHero and what they have to offer, check out Tyler Loechner’s app review right here on FTN and Chris Meaney’s video breakdown.
Get two first-time deposit matches by signing up for StatHero. A 30% bonus match on your first-time deposit AND a bonus match on your first Sportsbook play up to $250.
Stat Hero NBA Picks for Tonight
Here is a look at my favorite plays on StatHero for Friday’s slate.
StatHero MVP picks
With StatHero taking Russell Westbrook at their MVP spot, that essentially eliminates him from our pool understanding that you want to beat their MVP, not tie them. Because Westbrook’s floor/ceiling combination is so high, this is not a slate where I want to get cute with a value play for the MVP spot, it’s one where I want to spend up.
With that in mind, Nikola Jokic and Stephen Curry are my two favorite options. Both of them are playing just as well as Westbrook over their last two weeks, while Curry will also save you $1,200 relative to Westbrook and $1,600 relative to Jokic. He’s also facing a Denver defense that he just torched for over 50 raw points and 10 threes, making him my favorite MVP pick with Jokic trailing closely behind.
If you’re persistent about saving a bit of salary at the MVP spot, Paul George is my favorite salary-saver at $10,700. With Kawhi Leonard out, he has a usage rate approaching 40% and draws an extremely enticing matchup against the Rockets, you just have to hope that the game doesn’t blow out so that he gets full run.
StatHero flex picks
When looking at the flex spots, this is an easy slate to mix and match between high-priced options to anchor your lineup while also finding some salary savers with upside. While the aforementioned MVP options are all elite flex plays if not playing them in the MVP spot, my building blocks at the flex spots will be Bogdan Bogdanovic and John Collins. Bogdanovic is way too cheap considering his upside without Trae Young, and the same can be said for Collins. The latter of the two also stands to see a massive boost if Clint Capela sits out.
Depending on how the injury report shakes out, getting one of Jayson Tatum ($11,000) or Jaylen Brown ($10,000) at their prices feels like a steal. If Brown (who has missed the previous three games) sits out, Tatum becomes one of the best point-per-dollar options on the entire slate. If he’s active, we are getting him at a discount given his time out, making him an extremely enticing value in a matchup with the Nets.
Looking down in price, Miles Bridges and Darius Bazley are both my top plays in the $7,000 range. Bazley has averaged over 20 points and seven rebounds per game over his last four games as the Thunder deal with injuries, while Bridges has been stuffing the stat sheet ever since Gordon Hayward went down. Both also have two of the best matchups on the entire slate.
StatHero sleeper pick
In terms of a sleeper pick or value, this is a spot where I am actually OK matching the StatHero lineup. If looking for value punts, they used two of the best in PJ Dozier and Daniel Gafford. Between the two, Dozier is my preferred option as his minutes remain super secure with Monte Morris and Jamal Murray out. This allows you the security of not having to worry if your value fails as long as you get different with the rest of your lineup.
If looking elsewhere for value, Xavier Tillman would be my top choice at $5,000. While Jaren Jackson made his return last game, he only saw 18 minutes off the bench and given that this is only his second game back this entire season, he’s probably going to be looking at a similar role Friday. That leaves Tillman to start for the injured Jonas Valanciunas and should afford him roughly 30 minutes of action.
Other picks: Kevin Durant ($11,900, if active), Ja Morant ($9,400), Darius Garland ($8,000), Luguentz Dort ($6,200, if active, he’s one of the best per-dollar options on the slate), Bruce Brown ($5,700, if Durant is out)
Sign up at StatHero now and use these picks (or your own) to win!
