Posted on 5/29/2007 4:46:47 PM

NBA Betting Odds - Pistons vs. Cavaliers Game 4

By Jim Leary

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The story was LeBron James. But the subtext was Daniel Gibson.

The Cleveland Cavaliers (+1) are alive and well in the Eastern Conference finals. They rode a premier performance by King James on Sunday, beating the Detroit Pistons (-1) 88-82 as 4-point home favorites. James led the way with 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists; however, the big number for handicappers is 29; that’s how many minutes Gibson played on Sunday.

Larry Hughes, Cleveland’s starting point guard, suffered a sprained foot early in Game 3 and was limited to 22 minutes, opening the door for Gibson to show coach Mike Brown what he could do. And what he did was play very well at both ends of the court, connecting on two of three trey attempts and stripping Tayshaun Prince on a key possession in the final minutes.

Hughes was slated to have an MRI on Tuesday, although speculation after Cleveland’s victory pointed at the nine-year veteran returning for Game 4 that same day. The fate of the Cavaliers in this series may hang in the balance. Brown has been reluctant to give the rookie Gibson much playing time since shifting Hughes from shooting guard to the point. But the Cavs are in desperate need in this series of a pivot who can both sink 3-pointers and get the ball to James. This year, Hughes has a 33.3-percent success rate from that distance, Gibson 41.9 percent.

Much has been made of the 26-11 (23-12-1 against the spread) record Cleveland has amassed since Mar. 3, when Brown put Hughes in at point guard against the Toronto Raptors. Lost in that shuffle was the modest 8-6 run the Cavs enjoyed after Gibson got his shot at the job at the end of January. Handicappers recall those days fondly, though, as Cleveland went 11-3 against the spread.

The Cavs are well aware of the need to break down Detroit’s defense by hitting some shots from the perimeter. James was spotted at the Quicken Loans Arena three hours before the opening tip-off, shooting 3-pointers. This is one of the few weak spots (31.9 percent) in his game; on Sunday, LeBron was 2-for-3 in that department, all in the fourth quarter, to turn the tide for Cleveland.

James can’t do it alone. Any indication between now and Game 4 that Brown is warming up to Gibson would be great news for Cavs supporters. Tip-off is at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on TNT.

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