26 points, grade 5.8: our index isn't buying Patty Mills' night

Our index saw a team win, not a star showcase. In Valencia's 105-92 win at LDLC Arena, nobody cracked 7.0 on the Pred1x Grade — TJ Shorts' 17 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists topped the board — while the reference ratings handed 8.6 to Hugo Besson and 8.4 apiece to Patty Mills and Nikola Mirotić.

That gap is the story. Mills poured in 26 points, but our grade reads volume: zero rebounds, three assists, 23.6 minutes and a 0.0 defensive component. Nikola Mirotić's 22 points came on a 17.7-minute shift with 2 rebounds and 1 assist — a 5.9 against a reference 8.4 — and Besson's 19 points and 6 assists drew 8.6 while our 6.6 flags a 0.0 defensive score and 2 boards. The players we do rate: Shorts' playmaking component hit 0.899 in 21.6 minutes, and Tremont Waters' 9-3-5 line with a 0.736 defensive mark made him ASVEL's steadiest guard at 6.6. Efficiency and two-way work beat empty counting lines — that's the index verdict.