Doing Lines: LeBron Has a Supporting Cast

Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the L. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

Well, at least for one night he did. On Monday, Larry Hughes inexplicably went off for 40 points against the Magic. He shot 12-19 from the field, 4-5 from beyond the arc and 12-13 from the stripe. That's superstar production, somebody get this guy a $12 million contract! Oh, wait ...

Now, if only he could do this once or twice more before the trade deadline and the Cavs might be able to unload his disaster of a contract. Don't plan on it, though, and not just because he won't have a Smurf in Jameer Nelson checking him on defense. The last time Hughes played this well was back in November when he had 36 points against the Pacers; in his very next game, he couldn't even break double-digits.

Also Receiving Votes:
Stephen Jackson: 41 points (11-18 FG, 4-10 3P, 15-17 FT). In a battle between the Warriors and Wizards, it's not surprising that it was a high-scoring affair, nor that the last team that scored won the game. The Warriors pulled it out 120-117, thanks in part to eight free-throw attempts by Jackson in the final minute of the game.

Damon Stoudamire: 2 points (1-5 shooting), zero assists. Yeah, his arrival really hasn't worked out quite like the Spurs had hoped.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

2-12-2008 @ 10:30AM

frank said...

Lebron has one the best supporting cast in the NBA.

2-12-2008 @ 11:26AM

Dead Weight said...

It would seem to be a form of misguided institutional industry truism to say Lebron James has no supporting cast. Just like everybody said Dwade alone was responsible for the Heat's championship run in 2006 until Eddie Jones, Kapono, Walker, The glove and James Posey all found new teams, then everybody realized somebody has to play defense and spread the floor hitting outside shots so that Flash can keep piling up those assists. If you compare the scoring, rebounding and block shots stats for his team as compared to the stats of the last two NBA champions the Spurs and the Pistons (we will not use the Heat since that would not be fair) you will find that he has more than ample help, his team does a better than adequate job supporting him. on the CAVS, 5 players average 11 points or more, an additional 5 players average 6 points or more, 4 players average 7 rebounds or better, and two players average 1 block or more. On the Spurs, 4 players average 11 points or better, on the second level 3 players average 6 points or better and only 1 player gets at least one block a game. On the Pistons, 4 average 11 points or more, 4 more average 6 points or better and 4 players’ average 1 block or better. So where is this overwhelming advantage in "Team" that the other contenders have that Lebron James does not have? A lot of times, people fall into the habit of repeating rehashed and prepackaged information without bothering to investigate the strength of the argument used fabricating that fact. In this case, it is believed that because Larry Hughes does not score 20 points a game that James has to carry that team by himself; nothing could be further from the truth. He is the engine that makes that team work but without the wheels, the shaft and the rest of the parts of that car, the engine is going nowhere. I know the stats I used are rudimentary but until someone shows me something to the contrary, IMO Lebron James has a supporting cast.

2-12-2008 @ 1:42PM

Well said just last night Hughes 40 points again Dwight ( no help no D Magic) and Z a 7"3 with a soft touch and Gibson and Gooden in fact Lebron was a non factor ; Dwight is one of the few talented players that do not have a decent cast backing him.

2-12-2008 @ 1:56PM

I can give some facts about it.

2-12-2008 @ 2:04PM

Hughes scored 40 points last night (02-11-08) against Dwight and Orlando and Z ( 7"3) had 16 rebounds by the way Lebron was a non factor.