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+