When the Cavaliers signed Larry Hughes, it was under the guise that he would be Lebron James' sidekick. Yeah, how's that workin' out? Not good if you ask anyone in Cleveland. Oh, would the Cavs be lethal with Michael Redd or Ray Allen instead of Hughes. But there's no use crying over spilled milk. Last night was another prime example. The Cavs lost a heartbreaker 117-116 in OT to Orlando at the Q. Maybe if Hughes had contributed SOMETHING, the outcome would have been different.Hughes was a putrid 2-12 with one assist and three turnovers in 30 minutes. Man is that lame. Meanwhile, Lebron James' 39 point, 14 assist, 13 rebound game was wasted. Boobie ibson had a perfect night from the field as well, 5-5 from the field 4-4 from the line. Drew Gooden had 23 and 12. Z had 18 and 11. So how did they lose? His name is Dwight Howard and he is a beast. Nobody could stop this madman as he went off for 35 points and 16 rebounds.
Back to Hughes. In six games played this year, he is shooting 17-58 from the field for a rather pedestrian 29%. That's good for 6.8 PPG, 2.3 APG, and 2.3 RPG. He is also averaging 1.6 turnovers a game; and this is your point guard? Tell me this guy really doesn't make $12 million a year. Talk about the epitome of stealing money. Danny Ferry would do anything to get Hughes' salary off the books. Meanwhile, Hughes less than stellar play isn't helping matter as Sasha Pavlovic is working his way back into game shape. So far his play has been nothing to write home about. Thank goodness for Boobie. He is the only guard Mike Brown can count on on a consistant basis.
Per the Cleveland Plain Dealer game story, here is how those final few seconds in the game went down with the Cavs trailing by one: The Cavs had the ball with 5.8 seconds left. Devin Brown threw the ball inbounds to James at the top of the key. James made his move to the basket and had a step on Hedo Turkoglu. But Turkoglu reached in and James lost his balance and attempted a shot, but referee Leon Wood called a jump ball with seven-tenths of a second left.
The drive is exactly what Brown wanted.
"He did the right thing," Brown said. "He drove the basketball. He was driving for a layup or driving to get fouled. A guy 6-8½, 240 pounds and with the speed and athleticism he has, when he drives in there, it's almost impossible to stop him without fouling him or without him getting a shot off. But somehow, someway, they did it."
Perhaps James was stopped because Turkoglu had his hand on the ball. Perhaps James was stopped because Turkoglu had more.
"I was able to get my man off balance and drive left," James said. "I was going through the lane, he grabbed some of the ball and some of my arm also. So once I feel a little contact, I'm trying to go up hoping they're going to call a foul, but it didn't go our way, so we'll regroup and get ready for Friday."
The drive is exactly what Brown wanted.
"He did the right thing," Brown said. "He drove the basketball. He was driving for a layup or driving to get fouled. A guy 6-8½, 240 pounds and with the speed and athleticism he has, when he drives in there, it's almost impossible to stop him without fouling him or without him getting a shot off. But somehow, someway, they did it."
Perhaps James was stopped because Turkoglu had his hand on the ball. Perhaps James was stopped because Turkoglu had more.
"I was able to get my man off balance and drive left," James said. "I was going through the lane, he grabbed some of the ball and some of my arm also. So once I feel a little contact, I'm trying to go up hoping they're going to call a foul, but it didn't go our way, so we'll regroup and get ready for Friday."
If you want to read a good game story, peep Patrick McManomon of the Akron Beacon-Journal
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