NOTEBOOK Cavs vs. Pistons
The Hughes factor: Cavs guard Larry Hughes rejoined the team for Game 6 -- the first game he's attended since his younger brother, Justin, passed away earlier this week. Hughes has not played in the past four games -- Flip Murray has started in his place -- and Cavs coach Mike Brown wasn't sure if Hughes would play in Sunday's finale. "We'll watch the tape tonight and think about it," said Brown. "We'll practice tomorrow and then if we feel he's ready and we're ready we may play him on Sunday. But right now it's too early for me to make that decision." Cleveland has gotten used to his absence. Hughes missed 45 games in the regular season with a broken finger and has looked out of sync in the postseason. Still, having him in the lineup makes the Cavs a better defensive team and allows Brown to leave the slower Damon Jones on the bench. When LeBron James was asked if he would like to have Hughes back for Sunday's game, he said, "Well of course. You always hope Larry's going to be part of it. He's a big part of our team."
Poor finish: After outplaying the Pistons in the fourth quarter of the past four games, the Cavs were outplayed down the stretch in Friday's game. When Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace was asked if he felt the Cavs played tight, he said, "I don't think they were playing really tight or nothing but I know that the only cat that wanted to shoot was LeBron, so you can take it for what it's worth." James scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, but the Cavs had five turnovers, were outrebounded 12-10 (including 8-2 on the offensive end) and couldn't make a big play in the final minute. "I think [our experience] helped a lot," said Wallace. "Like I said before, they're trying to go down a road we've been down." James, predictably, dismissed such talk. "Everything that happened tonight was controlled by us," he said. "We just have to do a better job of executing down the stretch. But as far as being poised, I think we were."
Looking ahead: Cleveland is 2-0 all-time in Game 7s. The Cavs are 3-3 on the road in the playoffs. They're 1-2 at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Detroit is 5-1 at home in the playoffs this season with its only loss coming in Game 5. "I think it's going to be electrifying," said James. "Their crowd is going to be up for it. Their team is going to be up for it. We've won on their court before and in order for us to move on, we're going to have to do it again. We've got to take the challenge."
Joe Scalzo