The Cleveland Cavaliers got back on track tonight with a rather easy win in Minnesota. LeBron James led the way for the Cavs in this game with 24 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Mo Williams had his best game of the year for the Cavaliers with 20 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists tonight. Big Z also had by far his best game of the year tonight for the Cavs as he finished with 15 points and 5 rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench. Daniel “Booby” Gibson was electric off the bench in this game with 14 points, 2 assists and 3 steals in 29 minutes. Anderson Varejao was a hustling demon on the court tonight as he finished up with 13 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. The Cavaliers are now 1-2 on the season and they will play a tired Charlotte Bobcats team that won in double O.T. in Cleveland tomorrow night.

The Cavaliers only shot 34.9% tonight from the floor and it’s hard to win that way. The Cavaliers outscored the Raptors 32-21 in the third quarter using a small lineup and then head coach Mike Brown pulled a dingbat move and went back to a big lineup in the 4th quarter. I’m beginning to dislike Mike Brown more every single day. LeBron James led the way for the Cavs in this game with 23 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists and 2 steals but he only shot 7 of 19 from the floor. Mo Williams was also tossing up a bunch of bricks going 4 for 14 from the floor with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Daniel Gibson was the one Cavs’ player who really played hard in this game. He played 34 minutes tonight finishing with 12 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. When Gibson was on the court the Cavaliers were +12 points so maybe they should start giving him more playing time. The Cavaliers are off to a shocking 0-2 start to the season.

With the exception of LeBron James the Cavs looked flat after the first quarter. James led the way for the Cavs with 38 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocked shots. Late in the game James almost willed the Cavs to come back before they feel short. Mo Williams had a so-so night finishing with 12 points and 3 assists. Shaq Daddy was solid when he was on the court finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds in only 29 minutes. Anthony Parker filled up the stat sheet in his first game with the Cavs as he finished with 10 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots. The Cavaliers are now 0-1 and they have to travel to Toronto to play the Raptors and that won’t be a easy task.

The Cavaliers are a very deep and talented basketball team. 61.5 wins is a big number but I think the team will be very focused this season as they want to again have home court advantage in the playoffs. With that in mind look for the Cavaliers to win more than 62 games next season. I just wouldn’t bet my house on it.

The Cavaliers’ biggest acquisition over the off season may wind up being shooting guard Anthony Parker. Parker played in 8 games (all starts) this pre-season for the Cavaliers and he averaged 23.4 minutes, 7.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Parker also is in a groove shooting wise as he nailed 56.5% of his shots from the floor and 40% from three point range in the pre-season. The Cavs will likely need Parker to play a lot of minutes early this season until Delonte West gets his head on straight.

26-year old shooting guard Coby Karl and 26-year old Jawad Williams have made the opening night roster for the Cavs. To stick around both of them will have to play very well every time they get on the basketball court. Williams played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Cavs last season and he averaged 2.0 minutes, 1.2 points and 0.2 rebounds per game. Coby Karl last played in the NBA during the 2007-08 season with the Lakers when he appeared in 17 games (0 starts) in which he averaged 4.2 minutes, 1.8 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Karl’s dad once coached the Cavaliers a long, long time ago.

The Cavaliers have released small forward Rob Kurz. Kurz just got lost in a numbers game for the very deep Cleveland Cavaliers. He’s good enough of a basketball player that he shouldn’t have any problem finding a new job. The Cavs won’t miss him too much if at all.

Sure, Mike Brown was the NBA Coach of the Year in the 2008-2009 NBA season but he was badly outcoached by Stan Van Gundy in the Eastern Conference Finals last year. The Magic shredded the Cavs’ defense which was often doubling in the paint and leaving players like Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu open beyond the three point line. This off-season GM Danny Ferry brought in Shaq, Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon with the idea that they would be able to clear up the Cavs’ problems on defense. Mike Brown has absolutely no excuse not to get to the NBA Finals and win it. He has now been the coach of the Cavs for 4 years and he is 211-117 (64.3%) during the regular season. He is also 36-24 (60%) in the post season where the team has not lived up to expectations. Rumors abounded that the Cavs’ owner wanted to fire Brown and hire Pat Riley so Brown will likely be on the hot seat all year long.

The Cavaliers have the best set of centers in the NBA without a doubt. 37-year old Shaquille O’Neal was brought in from the Suns over the off season in a trade. He played in 75 games for the Suns last season and he averaged 30.0 minutes, 17.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. O’Neal is the rare player who shot better from the floor (60.9%) than the free throw line (59.5%). The real reason the Cavs brought in O’Neal was to battle with Dwight Howard and Kevin Garnett in the Eastern Conference. With Zydrunas Ilgauskas as his backup the Cavs should be key an eye on O’Neal’s minutes which should keep him healthy. 34-year old Zydrunas Ilgauskas is probably the Cavs’ second best center in team history (behind Brad Daugherty). He will slide into a backup role this season for the Cavs but he could probably start on at least 20 teams in the NBA right now. Big Z played in 65 games for the Cavaliers last season and he averaged 27.2 minutes, 12.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Ilgauskas has improved his jump shot to the point that he shot 38.5% from three point range last season.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CENTERS IN 2009-2010: A+

27-year old Anderson Varejao got the big bucks over the off season to start at power forward. He played in 81 games for the Cavs last season and he averaged 28.5 minutes, 8.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Varejao plays like his hair is on fire as he dives for loose balls and battles for every rebound. He has not developed much of a jump shot as of yet as most of his shots are around the paint. 21-year old J.J. Hickson will likely see an expanded role in his second season with the Cavs. He played in 62 games as a rookie last season and he averaged 11.4 minutes, 4.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. Hickson will likely see a bump to 15-18 minutes per game and he should be able to handle it well. 23-year old Darnell Jackson is also a 2nd year player for the Cavs. He played in 51 games for the Cavs last season and he averaged 8.4 minutes, 1.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Jackson won’t get many minutes unless Varejao or Hickson get injured. 25-year old Leon Powe could be the ace in the hole for the Cavs. He is rehabbing right now but he should be ready to return to action in late January or early February. He played in 70 games for the Celtics last season and he averaged 17.5 minutes, 7.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Signing Powe was a great move by Cavs’ GM Danny Ferry.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE POWER FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: B-