Five Stars: Kings 111, Heat 110

Throughout the 2024-25 season, I’ll be reviewing the box scores for each Miami Heat game. I’ll be ranking the top five players in each contest by using the GameScore metric. The Heat dropped a nailbiter to the Sacramento Kings by one point in last night’s contest.

First Star

Jimmy Butler (21.9)

Jimmy played a sliver under 36 minutes in the Heat loss, going nine-for-19 from the floor and making one-of-two three-pointers, also draining eight-of-11 free throws. Butler added a pair of boards, one each offensive and defensive, dished out six dimes, and stole the ball twice against one turnover. His plus-11 was the best mark on the team. He led the starting unit with a 125 offensive rating and with a 32.1 percent assist rate, and was 4.5 points better than the “average” NBA player per 100 possessions.

Second Star

DeMar DeRozan (21.7)

DeRozan played a second under 36 minutes and made 10-of-18 shots overall, including one-of-two from outside. DeMar made all five of his foul shots, with one offensive board, two defensive rebounds, two blocks and six assists. Along with his team-best 26 points, he also led the Monarchs with 6.6 points per 100 possessions above the NBA average. His 26.5 percent usage rate ranked him second on the team.

Third Star

Bam Adebayo (19.6)

Bam spent 35:57 on the floor and made seven-of-15 shots, but missed his only three pointer. He only made two-of-five one-point shots, but added eight rebounds (three offensive), five assists, four blocks, and three steals. He committed one foul and turned the ball over zero times. Bam was a game-high 6.8 points per 100 possessions above league “average,” and led everyone with an 11.1 percent offensive rebound percentage.

Fourth Star

De’Aaron Fox (17.8)

Fox scored a game-high 28 points in 37:03, going 11-for-21 overall and making half of his six three-pointers. De’Aaron sunk three-of-four from the charity stripe and dished out five assists. He also had six rebounds (two offensive) and collected a game-high tying four turnovers and four fouls. Fox’s 32.5 percent usage rating led all 20 players in the game and his 120 defensive rating led all Sacramento starters.

Fifth Star

Tyler Herro (17.4)

Herro played 33:45 in total and made nine-of-18 shots overall, including a game-high five three-pointers on 11 attempts. He made four-of-five from the foul line and pulled down a half-dozen defensive rebounds. Tyler blocked one shot and assisted on three others, committing four fouls and turning the ball over twice. He was 2.7 points per 100 possessions above the average NBA player.

The Rest

Domantas Sabonis (16.3)
Pelle Larsson (12.6)
Keegan Murray (10.1)
Duncan Robinson (9.3)
Keon Ellis (8.1)
Terry Rozier (8.1)
Malik Monk (4.4)
Jordan McLaughlin (3.9)
Thomas Bryant (2.2)
Trey Lyles (1.5)
Nikola Jović (1.5)
Alec Burks (0.9)
Alex Len (0.6)
Haywood Highsmith (-0.1)
Josh Richardson (-3.7)

Five Stars Standings
Jimmy Butler 31
Bam Adebayo 21
Tyler Herro 15
Terry Rozier 7
Alec Burks 4