GAMBLOG Picks Of The Week
February 11, 200802/12 Morning Minute: 40 Points Of Freedom
February 12, 2008After a sluggish start the Cavaliers gained ground on the Orlando Magic with a 118-111 win on the road. LeBron James nearly had himself another triple-double, with 29 points, 10 assists and 7 boards. James was not the star of this game however. Larry Hughes had his best night as a Cavalier, pouring in 40 points on 12 of 19 shots, going 4 for 5 from deep, and 12 of 13 from the line. Something clicked for Hughes in the third quarter, when he exploded for 23 points. Everything was falling for the Cavs’ guard- three pointers, runners off the glass, jump shots off of screens, you name it.
Hughes had trouble on the defensive end keeping up with Jameer Nelson. Nelson blew by Larry on several drives to the basket, a number of which ended in foul shots. Also giving the Cavaliers trouble was the Magic’s all-star Dwight Howard. Howard had an outstanding first quarter, giving us reason to believe we were in for a long night, but the Cavs switched defensive strategies in the second half and really limited Howard’s opportunities. The Cavs realized that Zydrunas Ilgauskas was over-matched in this one, and so they went with a smaller line-up and doubled or triple teamed Orlando’s center. The combination of Z, Drew Gooden, Dwayne Jones, Devin Brown and Donyell Marshall held Howard to 16 points, most often by sending him to the line where he hit only 4 of 9 shots.
I’m sure that most publications and blogs will be focusing on Hughes’ efforts. Certainly the old cliche will be in full force around Cleveland- that’s the player we signed from Washington. Truth is we have seen this player before. We see him once about every month and a half, assuming he’s healthy enough for that stretch. But what infuriates Cleveland fans is that this Hughes will disappear again. So as far as I’m concerned there is no reason to get excited about Hughes beyond last night’s performance. I for one won’t get excited about Hughes until he is consistently scoring in the 20’s. Talk to me about Hughes then. It’s a shame he was on the road though, as he certainly would have been encouraged by hearing from the home crowd on a night like this. He has certainly been on the receiving end of some jeers…and witty remarks.
The player that I am getting excited about is Devin Brown. Devin looks like he is learning the game and realizing what he is capable of. Against the Magic Devin scored 11 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and dished out 3 assists in 27 minutes. His defensive intensity was a bright spot as the Cavs started their run in the third quarter. Devin isn’t afraid to take the ball to the basket, and even drilled a three pointer. He helped cover Howard, Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis.
This was not one of Z’s better performances. The big guy managed only 1 field goal, finishing with just 5 points and 4 rebounds and played only 25 minutes due to foul trouble. On the bright side, I think this was the first time in the last six games Ilgauskas wasn’t whistled for a traveling violation! Congrats Z!
The Cavs fly home (if the plane is finished with its mechanical failures) to face San Antonio Wednesday before getting the week off for the All-Star festivities. No word yet on Daniel Gibson’s status for the Spurs game or All-Star weekend. Word is he tried to go during warm-ups but decided not to play.
2 Comments
great article
Thanks Spencer…are you the Spencer from The Big Lead comments?