Harry Lughes Hits Game-Winner; Larry Hughes Still MIA

The strange disappearance of Larry Hughes has been followed by news of a new Bulls player playing very well at the 2/3 position. Harry Lughes joined the Bulls at the start of the Bulls circus trip. His blue hair is the most obvious difference between him and Hughes. He has also been unable to duplicate Larry Hughes style of play and some would argue he is bringing almost the exact opposite style to the table. The game-winner against Utah notwithstanding, Harry has shot 47% from the field in the last 4 games. This is in stark contrast to his predecessor who shot a measly 33% in his first 3 games since returning from injury and just 39% with the Bulls last year. Harry Lughes has also shot a shockingly efficient 8-17 from 3 point land since his mysterious appearance on the Bulls bench prior to the Portland game.

The offensive numbers alone don't show the stark contrast between Larry and Harry. He seems to be taking great shots. Where Larry seemed to never want to go inside about 18 feet, Harry has decided to take it strong to the rack on a number of occasions, drawing fouls and racking up free throws opportunities. He also seems to be able to differentiate between what basketball insiders call a "good shot" and a "bad shot".

Defensively Lughes style clearly differs from Hughes style. If you watched Hughes the past few years, you know that the best word to describe his defensive style is comparing him to a matador with the occasional half-hearted attempt at cheating into a passing lane and coming off his man to gamble on a steal. Lughes plays an entirely different style of defense. He stays in front of his man and forces that man to take a bad shot or have to give up the ball.

Is Harry Lughes here to stay? We can only hope. It has only been 4 games and knowing Larry Hughes, I can't imagine he'll stay away for long. Only time will tell, but for now, Harry is the toast of Chicago after playing great basketball and of course making that huge game-winner against Utah. I wonder how much a Lughes jersey costs.