CLEVELAND (AP) -For the second year in a row, Larry Hughes may sit out against the Detroit Pistons in the NBA playoffs.
Cleveland’s starting point guard, who has been mired in a prolonged shooting slump during the postseason, sprained his left foot in the first quarter of the Cavaliers’ 88-82 win in Game 3 and described his chances of playing in Game 4 on Tuesday night as “pretty slim” and “doubtful.”
“It’s a tear,” Hughes, who didn’t play in the fourth quarter of Game 3, said Monday. “It’s not just sore. I haven’t been faced with something this painful. I can hardly put any pressure on it.”
The Cavaliers, who trail 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, listed Hughes as doubtful on their official medical update and diagnosed Hughes’ injury as a strain of the left foot plantar fascia. He underwent an MRI at the Cleveland Clinic.
Hughes’ career has been slowed by injuries. Last season, his first with the Cavs, he missed 45 games with a serious finger injury and then sat out four games of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Pistons following the death of his younger brother, Justin.
This year, Hughes missed a potential game-winning shot in the final seconds of Game 2, and his shooting tough has been off for weeks. Ironically, he injured his foot on a layup that made him 2-for-2 and gave the Cavs an early five-point lead in Game 3.
“I’m starting to think that May isn’t my month,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s tough. I have to fight through it. I can’t blame anybody, blame anything or say this or that. I have to see the challenge and take it on.
“That’s the only way I know how to do it.”
If Hughes can’t play, Cavs coach Mike Brown may slide Eric Snow back into his starting lineup. Snow didn’t play in Game 3 and has been in for only 17 minutes in the series, scoring one point.
Another possibility would be to start rookie Damon Gibson, who made several key plays in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s victory and was the only Cleveland player other than LeBron James to stay in for the final 12 minutes.
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