Five Stars: A Brick in the Wall

Five Stars is a series where we use the GameScore metric to rank and rate every player in every Heat game this season. The top five are the stars, regardless of their team affiliation.

First Star

John Wall (WAS) 24.2

Wall played 37 minutes for the Wizards, starting at point guard and scoring a game-high tying 34 points on 12-for-23 shooting. He sunk a sparkling five-of-six shots from outside and five-of-eight from the stripe, with eight helpers, three rebounds, and a minus-4 rating that ranked tied for tops from amongst Washington’s starting five.

They had some guys that usually don’t make shots that made shots because they were basically workout shots - there was nobody there to contest them. I think we came out with intensity. I just think our one-on-one defense was terrible - Wall

Second Star

Bradley Beal (WAS) 22.1

Beal, Wall’s backcourt partner in crime, tied Wall with 34 points and a minus-4 rating. Beal also made 12 field goals, in 26 tries. He went four-for-11 from deep and hit all six of his freebies, with four assists, five rebounds, and a steal in a game-high 40 minutes.

Third Star

Hassan Whiteside (MIA) 20.8

Whiteside continues to lead the way in the NBA with his 10th double-double of the season, with 18 points and 18 rebounds. He drained nine-of-14 shots from the field while missing each of his three free throw attempts. Half of his rebounds were from the offensive side of the court, and he added three blocks, a plus-7 rating, and an assist in a team-high 39 minutes.

He’s a monster - Dragic

Fourth Star

Marcin Gortat (WAS) 18.3

Gortat started at center for the Wizards and made four-of-six shots from the field and two-of-four from the line to finish with 10 points. He had a team-low minus-11 rating in 37 minutes, with a Hassan-like 16 rebounds (six offensive) four assists, and five blocked shots.

Fifth Star

James Johnson (MIA) 16.2

Johnson earns his third Five Star mention this season with a 17-point effort. He made seven-of-eight from the field, including two-of-three from beyond the arc while draining just one-of-three from the line. In 26 minutes off the bench, he added three rebounds, two blocks, one steal, one assist, and a game-low minus-12 rating.

We try to get to the paint and attack, but teams have been really loading up on that. We’re trying to develop more trust, more ball movement to make teams pay for that. - Heat coach Erik Spoelstra

Notable

Three of four main guards for the Heat, Dion Waiters, Goran Dragic and Josh Richardson, earned the official Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Stars, combining for 43 points. They went 18-for-38 combined, including seven-of-14 from outside, along with 15 assists and 13 boards.

It’s a huge game for us, we’re not a team that runs a whole lot. But we just need to grind, and we did that tonight - Dragic

Saturday’s Worst

Tyler Johnson made just one-of-nine shots in 24 minutes on the floor, with four assists and three rebounds to go with his five points.

Season Standings

Hassan Whiteside 71
Tyler Johnson 24
Goran Dragic 23
Dion Waiters 16
James Johnson 10
Justise Winslow 6
Josh Richardson 5
Willie Reed 3
Rodney McGruder 3