Cavs v. Wizards: Game I
Posted April 22nd, 2007 by George Thomas
I was sitting in the press area at Quicken Loans Arena Sunday, I looked up and suddenly realized that Larry Hughes had dropped 27 points on the Washington Wizards. Normally that would be LeBron James, but this afternoon, Hughes was on display. Maybe that $2 million bonus he got for the team's 49th win put a little pep in his step. Or, perhaps, there's something else.
In his second season with the Cavs, Hughes suffered through an injury plagued first season and the tragic death of his brother. There exists some validity to the argument that he never got into any kind of playoff groove last season because of that. If his performance today is any indication of what the playoffs could be, then Cavs fans will be saying "Welcome, Larry."
Since being moved to the point guard position, Hughes and LeBron James have played in harmony - certainly a little out of tune on occasion - but for the most part it seemed as if they are on the same page.
Dare we think that Hughes might be LBJ's Scottie Pippen? No one is likely to go that far, but if Hughes can continue the consistent play, the Eastern Conference Finals are certainly attainable.
April 22nd, 2007 at 5:24 pm
Don't hold your breath. Hughes is still the biggest Cavs bust since The Impregnator, Kemp. We've seen more clangs and clunks, than swishes and dunks.
April 24th, 2007 at 11:44 am
That Pippen reference is a little ridiculous, don't you think? Why do so many media folk insist upon using it? If James wasn't on the team, thereby leaving Hughes, they'd be a lottery team without a lottery pick.
Hughes isn't a point guard, Hughes isn't a shooting guard. Frankly, can anybody answer the question of what Hughes IS? I mean, other than a guy with a serious case of Dampier Disease. Has Hughes ever consistently put forth effort other than in the last year of a contract?
April 24th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Gee, Alan would you prefer I use LeBron's Robin? LeBron's Kato? The fact is people thought Hughes would be a complementary player, so far he's shown to not be that.
April 24th, 2007 at 6:02 pm
I'd like to nominate "LeBron's Yang."
April 25th, 2007 at 12:59 am
George, everybody uses that Pippen analogy, but why? Malone and Stockton both passed and passed to each other. Jordan and Pippen both passed and passed to each other. James and Hughes take equal turns jacking it up separate and apart. If those two actually take equal turns passing anything, it's limited to the groupies in their hotel rooms.
I thought it was kind of dumb in the first place, when every media person used that Pippen analogy when Ferry first grossly overpaid for him. How unimaginative. Really, since when has Hughes fit in well with ANYBODY? James and Hughes go together like peanut butter and fried bananas. Which would probably have a shot at meshing if Elvis played power forward.
Your proffered "LeBron's Kato" DOES have a ring to it, I gotta admit. The NBA universe is lacking in really good Green Hornet references. Although, on second thought, many uneducated fans may reach the conclusion that you believe Hughes used to live in O.J.'s guest house.
April 28th, 2007 at 5:00 am
[...] and that will be posted immediately after each selection on Ohio.com. George Thomas will be blogging on the draft all day. So as you watch the NFL Network and ESPN coverage of the draft take a look [...]