CLEVELAND (AP) -Cavaliers point guard Larry Hughes did not attend Cleveland’s shootaround on Tuesday to get treatment on his injured left foot, another strong sign he will miss Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against Detroit.
Hughes sustained a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his foot while making a layup in the first quarter of Game 3. He played only 22 minutes and sat the entire fourth quarter of Cleveland’s 88-82 win.
With Hughes unlikely to play, Cavaliers coach Mike Brown has several options at the point. He may start veteran Eric Snow, who ran Cleveland’s offense for the first half of the season. Brown could also go with rookie Daniel Gibson, who had a huge impact in Game 3, or got with 3-point specialist Damon Jones.
Whatever decision he makes, the better alternative would be to have Hughes, whose career has been marked by injuries.
“I’ve got reservations about starting everybody besides Larry,” Brown said with a laugh. “I’d have reservations about starting Daniel. I’d have reservations about starting Damon. I’d have reservations about starting Eric, Ira (Newble). You always do when you don’t have a feel for the unknown.
“We had a little bit of a comfort zone with Larry starting. So if he can’t play, we have to go out of it.”
The Cavs have listed Hughes as “doubtful” for Game 4, but an injury like his normally takes weeks to heal completely.
“Were going to miss him,” center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said. “But we’re going to have to do it without him. Guys are going to have to step up.”
Gibson did in Game 3. He played a postseason-high 30 minutes, scoring nine points with two rebounds and a block. He also did a nice job helping Cleveland contain Detroit’s backcourt of Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton, who shot a combined 6-of-22 for 20 points.
Gibson said he hasn’t been told of his role yet, but he’s looking to contribute anyway he can.
“Coach has prepped me for this opportunity and I’m going go out there and have fun and make the most of it,” he said.
Hughes missed 45 regular-season games with a finger injury last season, and he sat out four playoff games against Detroit last May after his younger brother, Justin, died.
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