10 biggest studs and duds in the NBA this past week

This past week in the NBA might have been defined by what could have been. The Milwaukee Bucks could have handed the defending champs their second loss of the season, only to see themselves dominated down the stretch.

The Chicago Bulls could have earned a hard-fought quadruple overtime win, but saw that shattered by a dominating performance from Detroit Pistons big man Andre Drummond.

And the Houston Rockets could have taken care of business against two inferior teams only to see big man Dwight Howard struggle big time in those outings.

Here are the 10 biggest studs and duds from the past week of NBA action.

Stud: Hassan Whiteside, center, Miami Heat

Including two 20-point outings this past week, this under-the-radar All-Star candidate is averaging 14.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game over his past four outings. Equally as impressive, Whiteside is shooting at a 63 percent clip during that span.

Always considered a dominant defensive presence, this 26-year-old former d-league player is actually looking for offense more recently. He’s put up double-digit attempt totals in three of the past four games after failing to reach that benchmark in his previous 12 games.

This is absolutely huge news for a Heat team that seems to be prepared to contend for the Eastern Conference title when the playoffs come calling.

If Whiteside can provide that low-post scoring ability, it will be hard for opposing teams to jump out to defend Chris Bosh’s perimeter game.

With Dwyane Wade and Goran Dragic doing their thing in the backcourt, this could make the Heat a legitimate threat moving forward.

Dud: Dwight Howard, center, Houston Rockets

Outside of the reports that Howard is unhappy, he just isn’t playing good basketball right now.

During a two-game losing streak to the inferior Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings last week, Howard tallied a total of 17 points and 12 rebounds while hitting on just 47 percent of his shots. He also managed to finish with a disastrous minus 12 point differential.

On Monday in a win against Charlotte, Howard put up just nine points and nine rebounds while turning the ball over five times. He fouled out after playing just 27 minutes.

Howard did put up double-double performances in consecutive wins against the Los Angeles teams, but he simply needs to show more consistency in order to be that difference maker the Rockets thought they were getting.

Stud: Draymond Green, forward, Golden State Warriors

Golden State may have only played two games over the past week, but Green was downright dynamite in both outings. He followed up a triple-double performances (his fourth of the season) against Denver by finishing one rebound and two assists shy of that accomplishment in a comeback win against Milwaukee.

Overall, Green averaged 18.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 9.0 assists and 3.0 steals in his two games this past week. Oh, and he finished plus 39 in the all-important point differential category.

Needless to say, Green is in the midst of an All-Star performance in what is quickly becoming a breakout campaign for the divisive figure. Regardless of your opinion regarding Green’s on-court antics, the dude simply knows good basketball.

Dud: Nik Stauskas, guard, Philadelphia 76ers

How do you go a full three games without attempting a field goal? Well, that’s exactly what this former Sacramento Kings first-round pick did over the past week.

In a combined 33 minutes of action, this former sharpshooter from Michigan tallied a total of zero points while missing the only two shots he attempted — both from the free thrown line.

What makes this so darn alarming is the fact that Stauskas refused to look for his shot for a Sixers team that enters this week with a 1-28 record.

If he’s not confident to shoot with that lack of talent around him, it sure looks like the second-year player never will be.

Stud: LaMarcus Aldridge, forward, San Antonio Spurs

It’s not that Aldridge failed to fit in with the Spurs through the first quarter of the season. Rather, he was working his way into finding a niche with a team that has seen more continuity than any other in recent NBA history.

Now 25-plus games into his initial season with San Antonio, this All-Star has started coming out of his shell. He put up an average of 16.3 points and 9.0 rebounds while shooting well over 50 percent from the field in four games this past week — all Spurs wins.

If Aldridge can find a way to be that consistent No. 2 scoring option behind Kawhi Leonard, it is going to make the Spurs nearly unbeatable moving forward. Last week’s action was a prime example of this.

Dud: Meyers Leonard, forward, Portland Blazers

The suddenly free-falling Blazers need someone to step up behind Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum in order to find a way to right the ship. Unfortunately, that hasn’t come in the form of this former lottery pick.

Leonard shot just 10-of-32 (31 percent) from the field in four games this past week. He also averaged just 4.3 points in about 22 minutes of action.

Now that Lillard and McCollum are banged up, the Blazers find themselves in a unsustainable position. After all, those two have represented 44 percent of the team’s scoring output this season. It sure would help if this young big man would step into a larger role on the offensive end of the court.

Stud: Carmelo Anthony, forward, New York Knicks

It’s not ridiculous to conclude that Anthony is currently playing the best basketball of his career. Now seemingly healthy, the eight-time All-Star has his Knicks thinking playoffs.

This past week alone, Anthony led New York to wins in three of its four games while averaging 21.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists per outing.

What has made Anthony’s game so special thus far this season is the fact that he’s still finding a way to help the team out even when his shot isn’t falling.

In a two-game span against Minnesota and Philadelphia last week, Anthony shot a combined 35 percent from the field. He still managed to 20 rebounds and 13 assists in those two games. This is a sign of a player that has matured a great deal in his 13th season.

Dud: Kyle Lowry, guard, Toronto Raptors

To be clear, Lowry has been one of the top point guards in the Association thus far this season. As every player will experience during the season, this soon-to-be two-time All-Star has struggled a bit recently.

Including a 6-of-29 shooting performance in a loss to the Charlotte Hornets, Lowry shot just 34 percent from the field in four games last week. He also finished that four-game span negative 29 in the all-important plus-minus category.

As the leader of a backcourt that might be the best in the Eastern Conference, Toronto’s offense runs through Lowry. A minor struggle during one week won’t change this.

However, the Raptors simply can’t afford to fall to teams like the Sacramento Kings if they want to be taken seriously moving forward.

Stud: Andre Drummond, forward, Detroit Pistons

It might have taken four overtimes, but Drummond put up an absolutely absurd 33-points, 21-rebound performance in a win against Chicago Friday night.

For the soon-to-be first-time All-Star, it was his sixth 20-rebound performance and the 26th time in 28 games that he has compiled double-digit rebounds.

Last week alone, Drummond averaged 23.0 points and 16.0 points in three games, two of which the Pistons won.

Overall, Drummond leads the NBA in offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds and total rebounds. He’s also racked up a whopping 24 double-double performances thus far.

Dud: O.J. Mayo, guard, Milwaukee Bucks

Mayo may want to talk about Draymond Green’s lack of class, but he’d probably be better off not doing that after confronting the Warriors big man on the court after his team lost a hotly-contested affair.

He’s also better off avoiding any press after putting up 0-for-6 shooting performance from three-point range in that game.

In four games last week, three of which ended in Bucks losses, Mayo shot 35 percent from the field while making just 6-of-25 from beyond the arc. As a one-dimensional player, that’s simply not going to get it done.