Larry Hughes question from Bulls fan

[TheOUTLAW]

You must also remember that the Wiz were not that good of a defensive team. They gambled for steals because they weren't at all solid on defense. The Cavs on the other hand were very solid on defense and gambling tended to put you out of position to rotate. On occasion it's okay because it's not expected but you really can't do it as a rule and not get regularly burned.

[rmra1]

I have watched Hughes since he palyed in high school. I watched over 90% of his games in Golden State, Washington and Cleveland. Here is my take on what you are getting.

-It's safe to say at this point in his career his jumpshot "is what it is." He was never a good perimeter shooter and never will be. He is a rhythm shooter (has to get his hot off the dribble and be in good game rhythm for his shot to go in consistently). That was a big problem in Cleveland where he was called upon to float around the perimeter and be a spot-up shooter. He is not Michael Redd, Boobie Gibson, or Damon Jone, or or Wally Szer-biatch (sorry couldn't resist). He is better shooting off teh dribble or coming off screens. Either way, he has to be in rhythm (and even then he only an average shooter from the perimeter).

-Hughes's strength is his ability to slash and get to the rim. That was his bread and butter in Washington and what helped him put up the numbers he did there. When he slashes he gets higher percentage shots and gets to the foul line. When he slashes defenders are forced to play off of him and this gives him more space to get off his mid-range jumper (which, if he is playing smart, he should only take infrequently). Problem is, Larry the slasher works best when he is feeling quick and athletic. With all of his injuries, it's been a long time since anyone has seen that Larry. The last month we have seen that Larry appear occassionally. The big question for Bulls fans is whether he will continue to stay/get healthy and whether in doing so he will re-find his athleticism.

-Defense. Larry is an above-average defender in the NBA. Some will say he is a ball-hawk and his strength is playing the passing lanes. But if you watch eough games it will be clear that he is a good defender whose length bothers many guards. Not very many sgs can guard pgs like Hughes can. I don't think thee are too many sgs in the NBA who get asked to take on the defensive assignments (or offensive assignments) that Hughes has been consistently asked to take on. He will give the Bulls good man to man defense and 100% effort on the defensive end every night.

Worst case scenario: You just got Jamal Crawford with less perimeter skills (and health), yet better defense and passing ability.

Best case scenario: Hughes pulls a MArcus Camby and goes from being a fragile injury prone palyer (remember Cotton Camby) and matures into a solid mid-career pro. You will know you have this guy if he is driving to the basket, getting to the foul line, shooting 43% and staying healthy. Combine that with solid defense, and you would effectively have a 6 foot 5 version of Gerald Wallace (with better ballhandling skills, but less athleticism).

Best line-up for Bulls. It's going o take some time to figure out. But if Gordon dominates the ball like he did last night and can't run the pg position, then a Hughes-Gordon pairing will be horrible. It would mean that both guys need the ball in their hands too much to co-exist. The better pairing would be Hinrich-Hughes. Hinrich can play pg half the time and meshes betetr with Hughes. I would start Hinrich and Hughes. Hinrich can play off teh bench. Hughes can't (mentally or physically). At sf I would seriously consider Thabo (Taebo) Sefelosha. He give you defense that Deng doesn't. Since you have no good defender in the middle anymore, then you need all the help you can get to stop penetration to the paint. Hinrich, Hughes and Taebo all play solid defense. Tyrus T at pf adds shot-blocking from the weakside, so I'd start him at pf. Finally, I think it's a toss-up between Gooden and Noah at center. NOah is not really startermaterial yet,but he has the height and I.Q. advantage over Gooden. Gooden is the better player right now though. If you want interiro scroingand rebounding right now, then start Gooden at center and move him around to make sure he gets time at of too. I think that is your best starting line-up. It will be hard to convince Deng to come off teh bench, but maybe he will do so while he recovers fully from his injuries.

[TheOUTLAW]

I disagree that Hughes was forced to be a spot up shooter on the Cavs. He could have gone to the basket anytime that he wanted. It's his fault that he only took jump shots. Sure they were open because of the attention that LeBron received but there was another factor involved in him being open. It was the fact that other teams wanted him to take the jump shots.

In fact Cavs fans always wanted Hughes to be more aggressive at going to the basket. It was his injuries along with his fear of getting injured that prevented him from being more productive.

[rmra1]

I think it was a mixture of both quite frankly (Hughes's shot selection and the spots the spots where the offense put him when the ball got to his hands). If you receive the ball while sanding still at the 3 point line (and don't recieve any screens to help clear a path, then it's safe to conclude that the offense was designed for you to shoot it from there if open. Mike Brown tweaked his offense in the offseason to include more screens and more motion for a reason. Catching a pass while moving towards he basket off of a screen is more conducive to taking driving, higher percentage shots. Hughes could have passed up some of those shots when he was wide open on the three point line. But if you make the decision to pass upa wide open three so that you can instead dribble it into the paint where your man is sagging off waiting for you and help defenders are a few inches to left (in the paint), then you probably didn't make best use of the offensive set. The sets Mike Brown runs make more sense for guys like Gibson and Szerbiatch. Even if they could put it on the floor, the oofense was designed for LeBron to penetrate, draw the defense in to the paint, and kick out to wide open shooters. If they caught the pass and drove into the very paint where LeBRon has drawn the defendewrs, then they nullify the overall effeciveness of the offensive set. The Cavs run a lot a drive and kick. For that you don't need a guy like Hughes on the perimeter. You need spot up shooters. As for the times when Hughes started off with the ball in his hand, got a screen (or not) and still decided to shoot the off-balance jumper from 18 feet....shame on him.

[TheOUTLAW]

Fact is the reason that Hughes was more effective lately is because he was being more aggressive taking the ball either to the basket or to a spot on the floor where he felt more comfortable shooting the ball. You don't take a shot from somewhere outside of your comfort zone just because you are open there. That was sometimes the case with Gooden as well. I remember a time that Gooden got the ball and realized that nobody was guarding him, so he took the shot. Well the reason that nobody was guarding him is because he was outside the 3 point arc.

The Cavs drive and kick because LeBron draws so much attention that there are almost always guys outside that are wide open. But I think it was pretty obvious that with some ball movement there are open spots all over the floor when you have teams chasing LeBron all over the floor.

[rmra1]

LeBRon does draw a lot of attention in the paint. So do Kobe and Gilert Arenas. Difference is, the latter play in an offensive system that moves the ball effectively and utilizes screens and player movement. No secret 9and no news) that Mike Brown lacks creativity on the offensive end. But if you can't adjust your system to fit personnel, then you change personnel to fit your system. Fortunately you all were able to find a taker for Hughe's contract. But in your curent system, you only spot shooters will thrive at teh guard position. Gibson and Szerb will be fine. It's going to take Delonte West a lot nore effort to avoid 2 for 10 nights.

[B Mac]

Larry didnt stop driving because of Coach Brown's offense, thats absurd. He stopped driving for two reasons:

1. Because he was afraid of the contact he was going to receive after getting hurt one too many times in the past due to his fragile body.

2. His prior injuries had left both his hand and his legs so wrecked up that he flat out could not finish for well over a year. Im not even sure he could reach the rim anymore to be honest.

Im not blaming him for those two things, because honestly I think he was at least smart enough to realize his limitations in that sense, but I DO blame him for instead jacking up deep jumpers with no chance of going in just to get "his shots" in for the night.