Advice for StatHero NBA Team Survivor Picks for January 14

Survivor pools are typically associated with the NFL, but StatHero extends it to the NBA with daily fantasy basketball contests.

Players can enter competitions where they craft a lineup of four players from the same NBA team. All they have to do to receive a payout and advance to the next day is beat StatHero's squad.

Each contest runs up to eight days or ends when just one person is left standing. Like in a conventional survivor pool, a team can only be used once. Unlike in a typical survivor fixture, the NBA team doesn't need to win its game as long as your lineup nets more fantasy points than the house.

The simple scoring system awards points for just five categories (points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals) while penalizing turnovers. Blocks and steals are worth three each.

Star power reigns supreme in the NBA, and these StatHero games are no exceptions. Each lineup is led by an MVP, whose point tally doubles. Since this isn't a DFS tournament where only a select few can win, there's no need to shy away from the top guys.

A busy day that altered the Association's landscape also took an MVP away from Thursday's action. While the highlighted team doesn't brandish a marquee superstar, its two headliners are working to earn that status this season.

Wednesday's blockbuster will make an impact on Thursday's five-game slate.

The Brooklyn Nets shockingly acquired James Harden from the Houston Rockets. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Houston flipped Caris LeVert from Brooklyn to the Indiana Pacers, who sent Victor Oladipo to Houston.

Before this transaction, the Pacers stood out as a strong choice for Thursday night's matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers. They remain a good play, but backers will need to do a bit more homework before submitting their four-man squad.

The Pacers are eighth in scoring (114.6 points per game) and offensive rating (112.6 points per 100 possessions). Portland, meanwhile, ranks 24th in points allowed (115.4) and 23rd in defensive rating (111.7 points per 100 possessions) as of Wednesday.

While the Pacers had Wednesday off, the Trail Blazers are playing the second of a back-to-back.

Oladipo averaged 20.0 points through nine games, but he was only Indiana's third-leading scorer. Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon are making convincing early cases for All-Star nods, and Myles Turner should swat his way to a lofty StatHero score.

Before locking in a lineup, confirm whether LeVert will make his team debut at the Moda Center. He's not yet listed as a playable option on StatHero, so contestants might need to pivot regardless.

Domantas Sabonis has recorded a double-double in each of Indiana's 11 games this season.

The 24-year-old big man is jumping toward superstar status with 21.8 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. He's also sharing with aplomb, distributing 5.8 assists per contest.

Sabonis has taken more shots per game in every year of his young career, and he's continuing that trend with 15.5 attempts per game. His efficiency hasn't suffered; the lefty is shooting 55.6 percent from the floor with a 58.2 effective field-goal percentage.

It also helps that he's logging the second-most minutes per game (37.7) in the NBA behind RJ Barrett.

The heavy minutes have afforded Sabonis a high fantasy floor. He's tallied at least 18 points all but twice, and he should have little trouble exceeding that benchmark Thursday.

According to FantasyPros, the Blazers have allowed 22.8 points per game to opposing centers. They also yielded a triple-double to Pascal Siakam in Monday's 112-111 win.

If he doesn't turn the ball over too much, Sabonis could deliver at least 90 StatHero points from the MVP spot.

Malcolm Brogdon is right behind Domantas Sabonis on the NBA's minutes leaderboard, registering 37.1 per game. He's also risen to the elevated role, recording career highs in points (22.5), assists (7.5) and steals (1.7) per game.

The 28-year-old had cleared 20 points in five consecutive games before settling for 13 in Tuesday's 104-95 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Even then, his well-rounded scoresheet (eight assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block) led to 34.9 StatHero points. 

Despite his heavy involvement, Brogdon has only once had more than two turnovers in a game. That helps avoid a 1.5-point deduction, the only penalty in StatHero's scoring system. Steals, meanwhile, are worth three points apiece.

Portland has allowed an NBA-high 31.4 points per game to opposing point guards, per FantasyPros. He may not match Damian Lillard shot for shot, but Brogdon won't lag too far behind.

He should bounce back from his worst shooting performance in an otherwise exceptional season and cement his status as Indiana's backcourt leader. Look for a big showcase on a squad finding its new identity without Victor Oladipo.

Myles Turner has rejected an NBA-high 4.1 blocks per game, 1.5 more than runners-up Rudy Gobert and Chris Boucher.

That alone is good for a dozen StatHero points, but the fun doesn't stop there. The sixth-year pro is also scoring 12.5 points per game with his highest field-goal percentage (49.5) and most minutes (31.1) since the 2016-17 campaign.

With Domantas Sabonis attacking the glass, Turner has amassed just 6.5 boards per game. Yet he's grabbed double-digit rebounds in two of his last three games, and Portland has conversely allowed the opposition the sixth-most rebounds per game (47.6).

The big man has also pocketed 17 steals in 11 games. An eighth multi-steal outing would provide a big boost for Turner, who won't need to sniff Tuesday's season-high 22 points to deliver a strong return.

Before getting traded, Victor Oladipo led the Pacers in usage rate (26.6). Sliding into the guard's role, Caris LeVert should remain a scoring menace alongside Domantas Sabonis and Malcolm Brogdon.

Teaming up with the unselfish stars could be a perfect fit for the aggressive LeVert, who averaged 18.5 points on 16.7 field-goal attempts per game with the Nets this season. He was also setting personal bests in rebounds (4.3) and assists (6.0).

Of course, that's assuming he's ready to suit up a day after getting traded. If not, there are backcourt minutes and opportunities up for grabs, and the choice then becomes a family feud between Aaron and Justin Holiday.

With Oladipo sitting out the second of a back-to-back Tuesday, Aaron Holiday went 6-of-16 for 16 points and 12 assists in 28 minutes. His older brother played one more minute but provided just eight points on four shot attempts.

Before the younger sibling's breakthrough, he had just 17 points in five prior January games combined. The 24-year-old has a lower floor than Justin Holiday, who is averaging 12.3 points and 4.2 rebounds this month. 

While the latter might have a lower ceiling, that's a fair trade-off in this case.

Note: All advanced statistics, updated as of Wednesday night, are from NBA.com unless otherwise noted.