Before I start last night’s Studs and Duds I have to apologize for it. Well, for half of it. You see, there are nights a few times a season coaches make good decisions and players don’t play poorly and other things fall into place and you end up with a Dud section like the one after the jump. I’m not sure if it’s bad or good, but the guys on the Dud list don’t belong there. Sure, they were the five worst guys last night but if you take a look at their lines, none of them played that poorly. On to the games from last night… Stud of the Day Dwyane put on a show last night as the Heat beat the Bulls in 2OT (130-127) as Wade stole the ball and hit a running one-footed, one-handedish, floating, 3-pointer to win the game. This made up for the fact that they should have won a million years before but he had missed a game winning layup and game clinching free throws. The Hawks won a duel with the Hornets in Atlanta and the Pistons beat the ‘Gic (who they continue to own) as Stud Antonio McDyess led them past Stud Dwight Howard. My Wiz went to Minnesota and beat the Wolves behind a Studly return by Tuff Juice. The Rockets pulled one out in Denver to beat the Nuggs by two and in a story covered by a Midnight Snack, the Blazers blitzed the Lakers and Rudy Fernandez paid the price. He was fouled hard by Trevor Ariza near the end of the game resulting in a stretcher to ambulance ride that is now said to be a soft tissue bruise of his upper chest and shoulder. He will probably be fine but the Lakers won’t be. Lamar Odom not only stepped off the bench during the fight but started pushing people. I’d say he gets 5 games on the suspension. Anyway, the first video is the Fernandez hit, the second is the regular top five (with the must-see Wade shot), and below those are the lists from last night. Enjoy.

Studs

1. Dwyane Wade – 15/21 FG, 5/6 3PT, 6 REB, 12 AST, 4 STL, 3 BLK, 48 PTS
2. Ben Gordon – 14/23 FG, 8/11 3PT, 7/8 FT, 3 REB, 3 AST, 43 PTS
3. Dwight Howard – 9/14 FG, 14 REB (5 OFF), 2 AST, 4 BLK, 27 PTS
4. Caron Butler – 9/20 FG, 9/10 FT, 10 REB, 6 AST, 2 STL, 27 PTS
5. Antonio McDyess – 5/12 FG, 3/3 FT, 18 REB (7 OFF), 3 AST, 2 STL, 13 PTS

Duds

1. Jerryd Bayless – 0/1 FG, 0/0 FT, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 1 TO, 0 PTS, 3 MIN
2. Tyson Chandler – 1/6 FG, 0/0 FT, 5 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 1 BLK, 1 TO, 2 PF, 2 PTS, 39 MIN
3. Craig Smith – 2/5 FG, 0/0 FT, 1 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 3 TO, 2 PF, 4 PTS, 18 MIN
4. Chris Quinn – 1/7 FG, 0/3 3PT, 0/0 FT, 3 REB, 1 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 1 PF, 2 PTS, 9 MIN
5. Von Wafer – 3/7 FG, 0/2 3PT, 1/4 FT, 1 REB, 0 AST, 0 STL, 0 BLK, 2 PF, 7 PTS, 14 MIN

Guyinthecorner is a Senior Editor here at spartyandfriends.com. He writes the NBA section, X-Games section, and contributes to College Basketball and MLB. He doesn’t watch hockey. He’s not sure how to rate Michael Phelps on the scale of athletes not only because he doesn’t directly compete against people, but because he is a fish. He doesn’t understand the hate for the 2002 National Champion Maryland Terrapins and wishes everybody would just shut up by now. He is known for having statistical formulas and might be Bill James or Joe Lunardi depending on who you ask. His identity is as hidden as many times over as the number of internet memes he employs in his comments. He can be reached at gitc@spartyandfriends.com. “GITC” is an acronym for guyinthecorner in case you aren’t that perceptive.

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