NOTEBOOK | Cavs vs. Pistons

Hughes not forgotten: Although he's still not among them, Larry Hughes remains near the Cavaliers. Hughes missed his third straight playoff game Wednesday night, remaining with his family in St. Louis following the unexpected death of his 20-year-old brother, Justin, who was buried Tuesday. The Cavaliers attended the funeral in Missouri before flying to Michigan for Game 5 against the Detroit Pistons. One of Hughes' No. 32 road jerseys hung in an empty locker in the rear of Cleveland's locker room at The Palace. "It wasn't my idea, but I thought it was a great one," said guard Damon Jones, who wore some of Hughes' wristbands in Games 3 and 4. "Larry's a big part of our family." The trip to see Hughes was an emotional one for the Cavs. Larry Hughes helped raise his younger brother, who was born with a heart defect and underwent a transplant in 1997. Justin Hughes had been in failing health in recent months. Larry Hughes left the club for a few days in December when his brother was in the hospital. "We expressed our feelings to him and his family," LeBron James said. "He's going through tough times and we'll be very excited to get him back, if not in this series, but if we move on, in the next series." Cavs coach Mike Brown there was no decision to make on going to the funeral. It was essential for the team to pay its respects. "It's something that I thought needed to be done because that's way more important than this," Brown said. "It was a tough deal, but I'm glad all of our guys wanted to do it." Brown has not spoken to Hughes about coming back for Game 6 or returning if the Cavs advance to the Eastern Conference finals against Miami. General manager Danny Ferry said there was still no timetable for Hughes to come back. "We'll just see how that goes," he said. "We'll do our best to support him."
Associated Press