Five Stars: Deep Sixed

First Star

Hassan Whiteside (MIA) 26.2

Whiteside earned a Heat-high plus-8 rating in 32 minutes on the floor for Miami. He scored a career-high 32 points on 13-of-19 shooting, also making six-of-eight from the stripe and adding 13 rebounds, seven offensive. He also had two blocks, for the 42nd game in a row collecting at least one. It was his 11th double-double of the season.

Second Star

Joel Embiid (PHI) 17.7

Embiid gave the Heat a glimpse at the “process,” making seven-of-13 shots in just 23 minutes starting at center for the perennial lottery team. He also made one-of-two from deep and seven-of-nine from the foul line, with five defensive rebounds, three blocks, a steal, and a plus-5 rating.

Third Star

Gerald Henderson (PHI) 15.9

Henderson, Philadelphia’s starting two-guard, was very efficient in scoring his 19 points for the night, hitting six-of-eight from the field, all three of his three-pointers, and all four of his foul shots. He had three defensive rebounds, two helpers, and a team-second-best plus-10 rating in 32 minutes.

Fourth Star

Dion Waiters (MIA) 14.4

Waiters continues to alternate good games with bad ones, scoring 19 points in 32 minutes and making the Five Stars for the fifth time. He knocked down six-of-15 overall and two-of-six from beyond the arc, with a five-for-six night from the charity stripe. He pitched in with five assists, three defensive boards, a blocked shot and a minus-2 rating starting at shooting guard for the Heat.

Fifth Star

Ersan Ilyasova (PHI) 9.9

Ilyasova had Philly’s only double-double for the night, but it wasn’t by much. He scored 10 points with 11 defensive rebounds in 31 minutes starting at power forward for the Sixers. He made four-of-seven shots in total and two-of-five from outside, with three assists, a steal, and a game-high plus-11 rating.

Notable

Aside from Whiteside’s good night shooting from the field at a nearly 70% clip, Miami’s other 10 players combined to make just 21-of-69 shots, a 30.4% success rate. Aside from Whiteside and Luke Babbitt (one-for-one), nobody shot 50% or better.

Monday’s Worst

Josh Richardson (MIA) -1.1

Richardson played 28 minutes for the Heat, starting the game on the floor with fellow guards Waiters and Goran Dragic in coach Erik Spoelstra’s three-guard offense, end proceeded to drain just one-of-11 shots in total to finish with four points.

Season Standings

Hassan Whiteside 80
Tyler Johnson 24
Goran Dragic 23
Dion Waiters 19
James Johnson 10
Justise Winslow 6
Josh Richardson 5
Willie Reed 3
Rodney McGruder 3