Five Stars: Dragons, Heroes, and Bam!

Five Stars is a series where we rate and rank each player involved in a Heat game, regardless of team.

Mostly, I use John Hollinger’s formula for GameScore, adding the plus-minus as a key component. In tonight’s game, the Heat took a 119-108 decision against the Bucks. The Heat had vanquished the Bucks in five games in a best-of-seven series in last season’s playoffs. Last night, the Bucks got a measure of revenge with a 47-point victory. Tonight’s game evened their season series and the Heat’s overall record, at 1-1 and 2-2, respectively.

First Star

Bam Adebayo - Miami Heat (26.9)

Fourth year big man Bam Adebayo started and led the Heat with 35:27 on the court. He scored a team-second 22 points on seven-for-13 shooting from the field and an eight-of-10 night from the stripe. He added 10 assists, and pulled down eight boards (seven defensive). If you would have told me that Adebayo would fall two short in one of the three triple-double categories, I would have said assists, but that wasn’t so. Adebayo added a steal and a pair of blocks, finishing his night at plus-11.

Second Star

Giannis Antetokounmpo - Milwaukee Bucks (26.6)

Most of the players on the Bucks finished below 50 percent shooting in tonight’s game. Aside from Giannis Antetokounmpo’s figures, they went 30-for-84, a 35.7 percent success rate. If not for Antetokounmpo’s 10-for-18 night, it would not have been just an 11-point loss for them. He also hit all four of his foul shots and went two-for-six from long distance. Antetokounmpo also did what Adebayo couldn’t — posting a triple-double by adding 13 rebounds and 10 assists to the statsheet. He also blocked a shot and added three steals.

Third Star

Tyler Herro - Miami Heat (19.2)

Second-year guard Tyler Herro scored a Heat-third 21 points on eight-of-13 shooting, making two-of-six from beyond the arc. No stranger to charity, Herro drained three-of-four from the stripe and pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds. He added four dimes and finished at plus-10 for the night after spending a game-high 39 minutes on the floor.

Fourth Star

Goran Dragić - Miami Heat (18.6)

Thirteen-year vet Goran Dragić scored a game-high-tying 26 points on nine-of-17 shooting, along with a four-for-seven success rate from distance. Dragić went four-of-six from the foul line, grabbing five off the glass and dishing two assists to finish at plus-14 in the game.

Fifth Star

Kelly Olynyk - Miami Heat (16.5)

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Kelly Olynyk, in his eighth NBA season, earned the fifth star in 29 minutes off the bench for the good guys. He made half of his 10 field goal attempts, draining three-of-seven from outside. He nailed both of his foul shots, with eight rebounds, four assists, and a blocked shot to finish with a game-high plus-16 rating.

Honorable Mention

Pat Connaughton - Milwaukee Bucks (Approximate PER of 23.3 in 17 minutes)

So yeah, he played for the bad guys here, but Pat Connaughton scored a dozen points on four-of-six three-point shooting in 17 minutes on the floor. He added three defensive rebounds and a steal. In fact, if Connaughton had kept up the output for say, 30 minutes like most starters, he would have been the number three star.

Dishonorable Mention

Precious Achiuwa - Miami Heat (Approximate PER of minus-5.4 in 12 minutes)

Precious Achiuwa has impressed Heat Nation over his first three games. He impressed me enough to award him the first two honorable mentions in the Five Stars this season. Tonight, he gets the opposite. In 12 minutes, he had five rebounds and two missed shots. He turned the ball over three times and committed two fouls. Achiuwa was one of two Heat players to finish with a negative approximate PER, along with Andre Igoudala’s mark of minus-2.2.

Seasonal Five Star Standings

Goran Dragić - 19
Bam Adebayo - 13
Tyler Herro - 6
Duncan Robinson - 4
Jimmy Butler - 3
Kelly Olynyk - 2