Lester Hudson Giving the Cleveland Cavaliers Some Excitement

Maybe it's because the Cavs hadn't played a watchable game in over two weeks. Maybe it's because with Kyrie Irving out I needed something to get excited about. Maybe it's because he inexplicably threw a spinning chest pass on the perimeter late in the fourth quarter. Maybe it's because his name makes him sound like he's 76-year-old man.

Whatever the reason, I'm excited about Lester Hudson!

The Cleveland Cavaliers had a three-guard rotation last night of Hudson, Donald Sloan and Manny Harris. That tells you all you need to know about the current state of the Cavs.

But Hudson provided a spark off the bench that Cleveland needed in a big way. No one was picking up the scoring for the first three quarters. It was Hudson who kept them in the game until Antawn Jamison went off in the fourth.

Hudson—the third-year journeyman playing on a 10-day contract—poured in 23 points, with seven assists, three steals and only one turnover. He pushed the ball after getting turnovers and got to the rim all game long, which led to getting to the free-throw line 13 times where he converted on 11.

But beyond the stats, he was fun to watch. That's not something you could say about the Cavs at all during their nine-game losing streak. And at this point in the season, that's all I ask for from the Cavs, to be fun to watch.

I understand that many fans want the team to lose to get a higher draft pick, and I can't say that I'm necessarily opposed to that either. But after how great the LeBron years were and then after suffering through last year, I'm dying to watch good basketball again. We've gotten that for most of the year in Kyrie Irving, who has giving the city a reason to hope and believe again.

But as long as Kyrie is out, I'm on the Lester Hudson bandwagon. He's the Chris Ogbonnaya of the Cavs.

Allow me to throw around some crazy stats. Hudson has only played five games for the Cavs and is averaging 10 points, 3.4 rebounds, four assists and 1.4 steals per game. Those 1.4 steals are tied for the team lead. His 10 points per game actually rank him sixth on the team and fifth if you don't include Ramon Sessions. His 15.7 PER is fourth of current Cavs players.

All things being equal, he's a pretty poor shooter. He has a career .349 field goal percentage and only .224 three point percentage. But you know what? I don't even care.

Hudson is a baller. That's all.

He played in college at the University of Tennessee-Martin in the Ohio Valley Conference and is the only player in NCAA history to record a quadruple-double (25 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists and 10 steals...it was against Central Baptist College but who cares). He was also an AP All-American Honorable Mention in 2009.

I would not mind at all keeping Hudson on the Cavs to be Kyrie's backup point guard. He only needs to be counted on for about 10-15 minutes per game. He can be the Cavs "irrational confidence" guy off the bench. Every team needs that guy off the bench who isn't afraid of the moment and is willing to have the ball in his hands and make a play. Hudson did that against Toronto on Friday night, and I don't see any reason why he can't do again.

Hudson was asked what went through his mind as he stepped to the free-throw line with the Cavs up 82-80 and 4.6 seconds left.

Via Tom Reed of The Cleveland Plain-Dealer:

"

"The 10-day is almost up so I said, 'If you want to stay you better make these,'" he said. "Do not worry about the crowd, make these."

"

Hudson coolly knocked down both free throws, sealing a Cleveland win and probably earning himself another 10-day contract.

Hop on the Lester Hudson bandwagon—it's a fun ride!

You can follow Benjamin Flack on Twitter @ClevelandFlack.