His shot looks off, sometimes arriving at the basket on too straight a line. Other times he’ll drive to the basket, only to have his shot blocked or slide out. Worse yet, he’ll endure long stretches without touching the ball.
Which leads to this question — or, rather, questions — about Cleveland guard Larry Hughes: Is it the finger? Adapting to LeBron James? Or is this who he is?
Perhaps it’s a bit of all three. The ex-Wizard missed 46 games this season because of a finger injury. He has admitted the finger still isn’t 100 percent.
“I’m dealing with it and trying not to complain too much,” he said.
Hughes had only 36 games to adjust to James.
“They’re still not where both players want it to be,” Wizards forward Antawn Jamison said. “It takes some time.”
In 10 playoff games last year with Washington, Hughes made just 37.6 percent of his shots (and was seven of 33 from the three-point line). In this series, Hughes is shooting 31.9 percent from the field and averaging 10.3 points (5.2 below his season average). He’s a career 41.4 percent shooter.
But Hughes’ knowledge of Washington’s offense has translated to 11 steals in four games.
“I know the calls,” said Hughes, the NBA’s leader in steals last season. “I know when those guys run to their spots. I know what plays they’re running. I’ll even call their plays out [during the game].”
Said Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, “He screws us up. He makes it hard for Gil [Arenas]. We can’t develop or initiate our offense with the pace or angles we want because he’s already on the play. He’s helped them even though he’s not 100 percent.”
