I’ll admit it, early in the season I’m doing a lot of box score hunting and recency bias plays a part in my recommendations for the first week or two of the NBA season. That said, the primary stat I am hunting for in the box score is minutes. If production comes along with those minutes even better, but it is the minutes that I care about the most. So, for Friday night’s nine-game NBA DFS slate, you will see a lot of names of players that performed well in their first game and more importantly played big minutes.

Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool

One Stud

Anthony Davis (PF/C – NO): $11,600 vs. SAC
The Pelicans took care of business in their opener by dismantling the Rockets in Houston. Davis was a monster with 32 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists while playing 39 minutes. On a slate that actually has a limited number of high-priced studs, I’m going straight to the top for Davis who can also fill the center position which I am not enamored with on Friday’s docket. The Pelicans have the highest Vegas implied team total on the slate in their matchup against the Kings who just allowed the Jazz to score 123 points in their opener.

Core Plays

Paul George (SF/PF – OKC): $8,700 @ LAC
Russell Westbrook didn’t play in the Thunder opener and is sounding doubtful to play on Friday night against the Clippers. Westbrook out means an instant lock-and-load of George who gets a big increase in usage and fantasy production when Westbrook is out. George played 37 minutes while putting up 27 points against the Warriors on Tuesday despite shooting just 9-of-23 from the field including a poor 4-of-12 from three-point range. In a little better matchup against the Clippers in a game that is expected to be close, look for George to build on those numbers assuming Westbrook is ruled out.

Aaron Gordon (SF/PF – ORL): $8,200 vs. CHA
Gordon has increased his scoring average by about 3-5 points in each of his four NBA seasons. If his first game was an indication, Gordon could be on his way to another big bump this season after putting up 26 points against the Heat, not to mention pulling down 16 rebounds. He’ll face a Hornets team on Friday that just gave up 25 points and 18 rebounds to Giannis Antetokounmpo playing the PF position. Now, I’m not saying Gordon is in Antetokounmpo’s class but they are both extraordinary athletes who can take advantage of the Hornets lack of athleticism down low.

Caris LeVert (SF – BKN): $6,300 vs. NY
With the Nets banged up a little bit on the wing to start the season, LeVert played 34 minutes in the Nets’ opener while scoring a career-high 27 points to go along with a handful of rebounds and assists. Regardless of the injury stat of other Nets players, LeVert could be on his way to a breakout season in his third year in the league. He showed some flashes last season when he averaged 12.1 points per game in about 26 minutes a night. LeVert also draws a favorable matchup on Friday at home against the Knicks who had trouble defending the wing last season and gave up 21 points, six rebounds and six assists to a similar player Taurean Prince.

Elfrid Payton (PG – NO): $5,800 vs. SAC
Whether it is the haircut or playing for a new team, Payton was able to put up a triple-double for the Pelicans in their opener with perfect 10s across the board. While I’d like to think it was the haircut, it could just be that he is playing for an up-tempo team with a variety of strong scorers around him. I’m also very encouraged by the 37 minutes of playing time that came his way. Another triple-double night could be around the corner with an anticipated high-scoring matchup in Payton’s first game back in his home state Louisiana. His cheap salary doesn’t hurt either.

Value Plays

Cedi Osman (SF – CLE): $5,400 @ MIN
The LeBron James replacement at SF in Cleveland is Osman. He started and played 33 minutes in the Cavaliers opener while posting a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in a tough matchup against the Raptors. His matchup against the Timberwolves on Friday isn’t much better but his salary is still fairly reasonable for a player that should continue to get 30-plus minutes and has the ability to fill up the box score in a variety of ways.

E’Twaun Moore (SG/SF – NO): $4,300 vs. SAC
Moore rounds out a trio of Pelican players to show up in my writeup for Friday. Moore’s production can be a little hit-or-miss at times, but his minutes are usually there as was on the court for 34 in the opener when he posted 21 points. He doesn’t have huge upside but is a steady cash game option that plays big minutes at a reasonable salary for a high-scoring offense.

Boban Marjanovic (C – LAC): $3,900 vs. OKC
This is the ultimate box score chasing recommendation. I’m not sure I’d have the guts to use him in a cash game lineup but there is no denying that if Marjanovic could consistently play 18-20 minutes a night he would smash his current salary. He played 18 minutes in the Clipper opener and nearly put up a double-double with 18 points, eight rebounds and threw home a dunk from his knees. At least that is how I heard the tale. With a matchup against seven-footer Steven Adams, I can see Marjanovic getting a chance to duplicate his minutes and production from opening night. Free Boban!

Garrett Temple (SG/SF – MEM): $3,600 vs. ATL
My research that is primarily using last year’s numbers at this point showed that the Hawks were bad a defending opposing SGs last season. So, I look to see who they play and find out it is the Grizzlies. Huh, who the heck is the SG for the Grizzlies these days? Apparently, that distinction belongs to Temple at the moment. He started at SG in the Grizzlies opener and played 25 minutes while scoring 12 points. Maybe, more importantly, he led the team with 13 shot attempts including eight from long range. Temple is priced at just $3,600 and gets a much more favorable matchup in his second game with the Hawks walking in Memphis.

Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool

Brad Richter is a correspondent at FantasyPros and a contributor at DailyOverlay and GoingFor2. For more from Brad, you can view his archive or follow him @RotoPilot.