Angus Burger, Well Done: Five Stars

Five Stars is a feature that we put together after every Heat win (and some of the more interesting losses). Using the GameScore metric as a baseline, a small adjustment for plus-minus rating is used to account for some of the defensive contributions. This article is for Miami’s 97-91 win against the Chicago Bulls.

First Star

Lauri Markkanen (CHI) 22.1

Markkanen finished with a game-high 25 points on nine-for-18 shooting, starting at power forward for the invading Chicago team. In 34 minutes, he also dropped two-of-seven from deep, five-of-seven from the charity stripe, added eight rebounds (seven of them defensive), along with two steals and one assist. His plus-7 rating led the Bulls.

Second Star

Robin Lopez (CHI) 18.2

Lopez, now in his ninth season in the NBA, started at center for the Bulls and continued the trend of seven-footers named “Lopez” who have their way with the Heat (albeit in a loss tonight). Lopez scored 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting, also making both of his free throw attempts in 33 minutes. He had four rebounds (one offensive), two assists, a steal, a block, and a plus-4 rating.

Third Star

Goran Dragic (MIA) 15.6

The Dragon led Miami with 34 minutes and with 20 points. He made seven-of-17 shots from the field, including two-of-seven from downtown. He drained four-of-five from the stripe, with six helpers, five defensive boards, a steal, and a game-best-tying plus-8 rating.

Everybody wants me to be aggressive, and try to get inside the paint, but sometimes it’s tough. Last game, Dion was hot, so I led him to create and score some points. We’re just game-to-game, whoever is hot or has a mismatch on the floor, we’re going to attack that. - Dragic

Fourth Star

Tyler Johnson (MIA) 14.5

Johnson came off the bench for 31 minutes, ranking third on the Heat for court-time. He scored 19 points on five-of-12 shooting, making three-of-five from outside and all six of his foul shot attempts. Johnson also had a plus-4 rating, three defensive rebounds, two dimes, and a steal.

Fifth Star

Hassan Whiteside (MIA) 13.0

Whiteside, in only his second game of the season, makes his second Five Stars appearance. Starting at center, he played 26 minutes and scored 13 points with 14 rebounds. He made six-of-11 shots, including his second career three-pointer (on his second three-point attempt). He didn't visit the foul stripe, and only two of his rebounds were picked off the offensive glass. He added one helper and one steal, with no blocks.

Above their paygrade

Kelly Olynyk (MIA, 5.2) and Bam Adebayo (MIA, 7.8) were solid and effective in their abbreviated time on the court. Olynyk went three-for-four in just eight minutes, but was whistled an incredible five times, or once every 96 seconds on the floor. He pulled down two boards, scored eight points, and finished with a plus-1 rating. His per-minute contribution, even counting the fouls against him, was tied with Markkanen for the best of any player in the game. Despite his performance, tonight’s game was most memorable for him due to Kris Dunn’s posterization:

Adebayo played 13 minutes and scored four points with a plus-8 rating, two steals, and four defensive rebounds. His per-minute production was the third best of all players.

The Denver Nuggets are next up on the Heat’s list. For more on the Bulls, check out Blog A Bull.