Larry Who? Faceless Cav sinks Magic

The Orlando Magic might want to check their stat sheet again today. Larry Hughes scored 40 points, yes, that's right, 40, to lead Cleveland to a 118-111 victory on Monday night. Larry who? Exactly. On a night when LeBron James scored a mere 29 points and dished out 10 assists for another double-double, the King was upstaged by Hughes, who poured in 23 points, alone, in the fourth quarter. You've got to be kidding me. This is like Tiger Woods losing to the world's 100th-ranked golfer, or the Miami Dolphins beating the New England Patriots. Pitiful. Orlando's defense, which played admirably in the early going, is a mere shell of its former self heading into the All-Star break. This is a team that can't rely on Dwight Howard all season long to make the playoffs, let alone win its division. Rashard Lewis missed open look after open look against the Cavs. He can be a 6-foot-10 waste of money, sometimes. Lewis needs to work on his stroke all night and all day to show fans he is worth his big contract. The Magic need more than Howard to win their division. Washington and Atlanta both are solid teams, and will hang around to the end. And, the Magic can ill afford another petty breakdown between coach Stan Van Gundy and Howard, who was benched for a period of time in the fourth quarter after a verbal confrontation upset the coaching staff. This is like Bill Belichick sitting Tom Brady. What? Wake up, people. This is the NBA, not high school or college. If you pay a man millions of dollars, play him, and talk to him about his shortcomings in private later. Stupid.