Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Hello, Larry!

Just when it looked like the Cavaliers might finally fall apart due to all their injuries, along comes Larry Hughes. In last night's 118-111 win over Orlando, with Boobie still out, along with Pavlovic and Varejao, and with Z and Damon Jones game-time decisions, Hughes came through with a season-high 40-point effort. The normally scattershot Larry went 12-of-19 from the field, including four-of-five from 3-point range. I don't think this signals the end of his shooting struggles, but it's a jolly good sign nonetheless.

And I went a whole paragraph on the Cavs without mentioning King LeBron, who scored 29 of his own and came within three rebounds of a triple-double.

On a side note, I love the fact that the expanded box scores on many sites include a plus-minus now for individual players, just as they've done in hockey for years. Last night's box score tells me Ira Newble was a heavy liability (-14), while Devin Brown was getting the job done (+14). Obviously, there are four other guys on the floor at any given time, so that's a bit simplistic, but it's still an indicator that ought to be taken seriously.

1 comment:

Jeff Brown said...

Steve, I have believed for a LONG time that "plus-minus" ratings for players were one of the most valuable statistics available! I, too, am glad that they are included on the box scores now. I wonder what Ricky Davis's career average plus-minus rating is? (-50?)