Hughes, working through off-court tragedy, lifts Cavs

	Larry Hughes recorded 17 points and seven assists in a Game 1 victory against the Nets. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Larry Hughes doesn't say much, which is his strength. He thinks before he speaks, and he grieves in private. When the Cavaliers offered him a bigger assignment in early March, they approached Hughes on his terms.

"There was no discussion,'' Hughes said. "It was just, 'We're going to start you at the point.' ''

An injury to rookie starter Daniel Gibson forced Hughes to shift over from shooting guard.

"It happened by default,'' said Hughes, yet the results have been promising. The Cavaliers finished 17-7 as Hughes worked his way into the point guard role, earning the No. 2 seed in the East -- another upgrade by default, thanks to a season-ending loss by the Chicago Bulls. They've now won five straight playoff games and remain undefeated in the postseason entering Game 2 of their Eastern semifinal Tuesday against the Nets.

"We were a team that needed a point guard,'' Cleveland GM Danny Ferry said, "and Larry fit all of those things at some level.''

Yet the Cavaliers leaned on Hughes after exhausting other options, including a failed try at acquiring Sacramento's Mike Bibby at the midseason trade deadline.

"A big reason why we signed Larry was because of the versatility that he brought,'' said Ferry, who recruited Hughes as a free agent before last season. "It took a while for us to remember that. Then we were put in a position of, OK, let's do it. And it has worked.''

Hughes isn't a traditional point guard, but then the Cavaliers aren't a conventional team with LeBron James dominating the ball as a small forward. After signing his five-year, $60 million contract to become second-in-command to James, Hughes was sidelined for 45 games last season by a broken finger. He was working his way back into LeBron's company when his 20-year-old brother, Justin Hughes, died May 11, 2006. In Justin's memory a pair of teardrops have been tattooed under Larry's left eye.

"I'm still dealing with it, but at the same time I'm really more focused on how my mother's doing,'' Hughes said. "We're coming up on the one-year thing, so it's probably getting tougher for her, and also for myself. But that's really my focus, to make sure she's all right.''

Justin was born with a defective heart, and he underwent a heart transplant in 1996. He was a warm, outgoing kid, and his poor health forced teenaged Larry to behave like a father in helping his single mother, Vanessa Hughes. Larry signed with St. Louis University to remain close to home, and he turned pro after one season to help cover Justin's medical costs.