With all the hype attached to Sunday's NFL action, what was going on in the NBA? Five Stars is a series where we take a look at who were the top performers in the NBA on any given day through the season. Using the GameScore metric (the most "advanced" of the simple metrics), we cull the wheat from the chaff and award the top five players a "Star."
First Star: Eric Bledsoe (PHX) 38.2
Eric Bledsoe, Phoenix’s 6’1” point guard now in his seventh season out of the University of Kentucky, led the NBA with 40 points in 41:45 on the court. He made 11-of-17 field goals, including four-of-seven from outside, while draining all 14 of his free throw attempts.
He also dished out an NBA-leading 13 helpers, with six defensive rebounds, four turnovers, and three fouls, along with a +23 rating. The Suns defeated the heavily favored Toronto Raptors by a 115-103 final score.
Second Star: Karl-Anthony Towns (MIN) 28.6
Karl-Anthony Towns is Minnesota’s 7’ second-year center out of the University of Kentucky, and last season's Rookie of the Year. In the fourth and final game on tap on Sunday, he scored 32 points on 13-for-19 shooting in 40:03 on the court. He made six-of-eight from the foul line, with a dozen rebounds (two offensive), seven assists, four blocked shots, and a steal, along with a +6 rating. He helped the Timberwolves to a 111-108 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Third Star: Stephen Curry (GSW) 21.7
Stephen Curry, Golden State’s eighth-year point guard (and now four-time All-Star) out of Davidson College, played 29:33 in today’s first game, which started at noon Eastern time against the Orlando Magic near Florida’s Kingdom of the same name. He came away with a plus-32 rating, 27 points, six assists, and four boards, while making 8 of 15 overall from the field, including a 7 for 13 show from outside.
He also drained all four of his free throws to improve his NBA second best free throw success rate to .919 (Indiana Pacer Jeff George has the top spot at .929 thus far). Curry turned the ball over just three times, and committed two personal fouls in the Warriors' 118-98 victory over the Orlando Magic.
Fourth Star: Elfrid Payton (ORL) 20.4
Elfrid Payton, Orlando’s starter at point guard, in his third season out of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, spent 39:15 on the floor, making 11 of 18 shots overall. That includes 1 of 2 from outside, but no free throw attempts. Payton also dished out 10 assists to make it a double-double, his fifth this season, along with four defensive boards, a steal, four fouls, two turnovers, and a -23 rating. Payton’s efforts weren’t enough, as the Magic fell to the Golden State Warriors.
Fifth Star: Gary Harris (DEN) 19.8
Denver’s current starter at shooting guard, Gary Harris, is a third-year player out of Michigan State University. On Sunday, in a losing effort against the Timberwolves, Harris led his squad with 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting.
He made half of his four three-point shot attempts, draining both of his free throws, and adding six rebounds (two offensive). He also dished out three assists and registered one steal, along with a +7 rating, the best among Denver’s starters.
