Larry Hughes question from Bulls fan

ikeziskash · Post #1 » by **ikeziskash** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:08 am

Hello Cavs fans. I have not seen Larry Hughes play very much in the past few years and wanted to know what his game is like these days.

Is he a slasher who can shoot? A shooter who can slash? Neither?

On defense is he a gambler who goes for steals? Lockdown defender or just average?

I'd really appreciate any information you guys can pass along.

Thanks.

bcortell · Post #2 » by **bcortell** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:10 am

ikeziskash wrote:Hello Cavs fans. I have not seen Larry Hughes play very much in the past few years and wanted to know what his game is like these days.

Is he a slasher who can shoot? A shooter who can slash?

that's as far as i got before i started laughing..

ikeziskash · Post #3 » by **ikeziskash** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:11 am

Is he neither? I am being serious.

bcortell · Post #4 » by **bcortell** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:14 am

yeah he's neither.. except for about one in ten games.. then he has a descent game.. then back to crap for another nine games..

he drove us crazy for bricking so many bad shots... even has a website dedicated to it

ikeziskash · Post #5 » by **ikeziskash** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:15 am

Ok. Did he just stop caring or has he always been bad for you guys?

bcortell · Post #6 » by **bcortell** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:18 am

no he tries hard.. i don't think anyone will deny that.. he's just a terrible shooter.. and much of a driver (besides rare occasions).. and he seems to be out for weeks for ticky tack injuries..

he's pretty descent on defense (more off the ball than on) but he's a bigger two guard so it helps him..

L&H_05 · Post #7 » by **L&H_05** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:18 am

ikeziskash wrote:

Is he a slasher who can shoot? A shooter who can slash? Neither?

He's a streak shooter who occasionally slashes... His shot selection is disturbing.. If Larry is getting to the line during a game, be happy about it..

ikeziskash wrote: On defense is he a gambler who goes for steals? Lockdown defender or just average?

In his younger days he was simply a gambler... He's still a gambler, but really improved his man to man defense here in the framework of the team IMO... I have no problems with Larry's defense..

Drew Gooden doesn't come equipped with defense, so no need to ask about it..

ikeziskash · Post #8 » by **ikeziskash** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:24 am

Thank you much guys. He is still an improvement in depth for us it sounds like.

Chris Duhon was getting 30 minutes some nights and we were having small guys guarding big guards and getting killed.

L&H_05 · Post #9 » by **L&H_05** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 5:39 am

You guys have 4 quality guards that can defend IMO... Kirk, Chris, Thabo and Larry all have the ability to really give other teams guards fits... Any combination of the four can keep your team in a game in terms of being able to limit alot of dribble penetration and guarding the perimeter..

Uncooked · Post #10 » by **Uncooked** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:01 am

He sucks who occasionally is a player who sucks, good luck.

Post #11 » by **B Mac** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:08 am

It couldnt even dunk the ball for well over a year. He just started being able to dunk again over the last couple of months. Before that, his "slashing skills" were completely worthless because he flat out couldnt finish anything. If he continues his recent play, then I think you guys will be happy with him. If he plays like he did over the last 3 years then you will want to kill him. He's lost about 5 steps off what his game used to be, but he still is serviceable at least.

Something tells me though that his recent surge of playing better had more to do with his wanting to be traded than anything else.

logical_art · Post #12 » by **logical_art** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 6:56 am

B Mac wrote:It couldnt even dunk the ball for well over a year. He just started being able to dunk again over the last couple of months. Before that, his "slashing skills" were completely worthless because he flat out couldnt finish anything. If he continues his recent play, then I think you guys will be happy with him. If he plays like he did over the last 3 years then you will want to kill him. He's lost about 5 steps off what his game used to be, but he still is serviceable at least.

Something tells me though that his recent surge of playing better had more to do with his wanting to be traded than anything else.

Is his athleticism gone for good or is he just recovering it now and that's why he's been so good lately?

I looked at inside scoring percentages from 82games.com and it showed that this season was his worst season finishing in six years and that each three seasons as a Cav he has had a lower inside scoring percentage than he did in all his seasons in Washington. Did he get injured his first season in Cleveland?

Post #13 » by **B Mac** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:08 am

He actually has seem to recover some, but for the longest time not only did it look like he had a 5 inch verticle, but he also couldnt even make a fist because his fingers were so gnarled up. (Which I believe they still are) Having problems like that will greatly effect anyone's game.

As for if he got injured in his first season in Cleveland... Yes, multiple times. And his second season in Cleveland, multiple times. And his 3rd season, multiple times... you get the point.

Dude just cant stay on the court, but honestly its not for a lack of trying. He played a month or so through a cracked bone in his finger, that ultimately made it worse.

He played through the playoffs last year with a severly jacked up foot that he took cortizone shots in before every game to try to numb the pain.

He played mostly through the death of his brother.

And so on... Dude tries hard, he just is as injury prone as any player you will ever see.

logical_art · Post #14 » by **logical_art** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:12 am

What are his injuries that have robbed him of athleticism? Is there any hope he regains some of his previous athleticism, or do you think he's pretty much done?

Post #15 » by **B Mac** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:19 am

logical_art wrote:What are his injuries that have robbed him of athleticism? Is there any hope he regains some of his previous athleticism, or do you think he's pretty much done?

Honestly he's had too many injuries to list.

I dont think he's done, not at all, but we we'll never see the athletic, explosive, Larry Hughes from Philly, Golden State, and even Washington that we saw again. Those days of being an explosive finisher and player who can absorb contact are well behind him. He dunked in a game in I believe it was January this year and Cavs nation was literally shocked because it had been well over a year since he last did anything like that for us, and probably a few months since he had even scored on a layup opportunity, but since then he has seemed to get better in that department for whatever reason. Again, I think it was a push to get traded, but who knows.

His calling card is still his defense and anything he gives you on the offensive end after that is gravy. If you view his game like that you will learn to be much more happy with him... Thats what many Cavs fans convinced themselves to do with Larry and it led to less frustration on our parts. His shot selection is horrible and he will leave you feeling confused night after night, but you have to take the very bad with the good with him at this point and try to learn to live with it.

L&H_05 · Post #16 » by **L&H_05** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 7:21 am

logical_art wrote:What are his injuries that have robbed him of athleticism? Is there any hope he regains some of his previous athleticism, or do you think he's pretty much done?

He's played better in the last month than he ever had as a Cavalier.. So maybe that's encouraging..

I understand the move on the Cavs part..However, I don't see why the Bulls acquire someone that is very similar to Thabo ?? I see no reason to halt his progress, as he was starting to perform much better in IMO, and I would imagine is look at as a piece that should be apart of the future ??

AKfanatic · Post #17 » by **AKfanatic** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 8:25 am

L&H_05 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

He's played better in the last month than he ever had as a Cavalier.. So maybe that's encouraging..

I understand the move on the Cavs part..However, I don't see why the Bulls acquire someone that is very similar to Thabo ?? I see no reason to halt his progress, as he was starting to perform much better in IMO, and I would imagine is look at as a piece that should be apart of the future ??

I think the reason for aquiring Hughes is simple, his contract was needed to unload Wallace. Hopefully for the Cavs sake Wallace plays better with Big Z in the middle. But as a Bulls fan watching him look over his shoulder at a spot he should be on help D in the lane 9 times a game drove me nuts. I think if Joe Smith gets decent PT with you guys you will grow to love him. He has played great for Chicago and seems to be a consumate pro, was sad to see him go yet overjoyed to see Wallace gone. I just pray Hughes doesn't get enough time to piss me off as much as Wallace has this season.

Cavsfan4lyfe · Post #18 » by **Cavsfan4lyfe** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 8:26 am

Hughes is just really streaky. His D is consistently good though. I think he will do better in a Bulls uni than he did with us.

Benedict_Boozer · Post #19 » by **Benedict_Boozer** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:00 am

You know in all honesty for the last month or so Hughes has been very good. Attacking the rim, hitting his FT's, making open jumpers, passing, defending well. But for the entire time prior to that outside of maybe 5-6 games he was complete TRASH.

So it's hard to say what the Bulls are getting. Trash Larry or this recent twilight zone Larry who is actually playing well?

One thing for sure is he is an injury away from sucking again which based on his history won't be too long from now, so in that sense Ferry was smart to sell high.

devwat12 · Post #20 » by **devwat12** » Sat Feb 23, 2008 10:35 am

Hughes plays tough man to man defense. I wouldn't say he is a gambler, but he is still pretty solid at playing the passing lanes. He's not a lockdown guy, but his length will bother a lot players at the 1 and 2. He struggles some against the quicker players in the league, but that could be attributed to him having to guard PGs in Cleveland most of the time.

On offense, he can be absolutely brutal at times. He's a low % shooter that thinks he has way more in his arsenal than he does. Shot selection and too many shots taken in general were why most Cavs fans soured on him. It's nothing for him to go a couple weeks at a time without having a game where he shoots over 40%. He's been very good from the foul line this season, but he doesn't get there nearly as often as he should.

He seemed to age very quickly with the Cavs. Until the last month, he went half season with only 1 dunk. His ability to score at the rim has fallen way off. If anybody rotates over to contest him, he's going to really struggle to finish a play. It's hard to say if injuries have zapped him of athleticism or if he is much more timid in the paint after suffering through a bunch of them. Most likely, it's a combination of both. Either way, I don't think you can correctly label him a slasher any more.

I'll warn you that once every few weeks he will absolutely go off and look like an All Star. He'll hit 5 or 6 3s, get to the foul line a dozen times, make some nifty drives, etc. Then, it will disappear over night and you will find yourself saying, "Man, if Larry could just bring that on a consistent basis, we would win ___ games!"

For the Cavs, that blank was "60", but Larry could never maintain that output for any length of time. I'll admit that this past month was probably the best of his career with the Cavs, but by and large, he is an average starting guard in the league at this point.