Backup forward Leon Powe is buried on the Cavs’ depth chart right now but he makes the most of his minutes on the court. Powe has played in 11 games (1 start) for the Cavaliers this season and he is averaging 12.4 minutes, 5.1 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Powe will step up if given the chance for the Cavs. I’m thinking that he will have a bigger role for the Cavaliers next season.

Daniel Gibson is buried on the Cavaliers’ depth chart right now but that hasn’t hurt his long range stroke as he is hitting 47% of his three point shots this year. Gibson has played in 54 games (10 starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he is averaging 19.6 minutes, 6.6 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Gibson’s main problem is that he is not a point guard and he is too small to handle the banging at the shooting guard slot. So he’s only getting minutes when the matchup favors the Cavs.

21-year old C/F J.J. Hickson has really stepped up at center for the Cavs this month with Shaq out of action. Hickson has played in 12 games this March for the Cavs and he is averaging 23.7 minutes, 10.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game on 54.5% shooting from the floor. He has now played in 71 games (63 starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he is averaging 20.1 minutes, 8.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game on 55.7% shooting from the floor. Hickson is capable of even more and he will likely get to show that down the road for the Cavaliers.

Power forward Antwan Jamison is really playing solid basketball for the Cavaliers since coming over from the Wizards last month. He has played in 16 games (14 starts) for the Cavs this season and he is averaging 32.7 minutes, 14.8 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. The one hitch in Jamison’s game is that he is only hitting 44% from the free throw line for the Cavs and that is not a good thing because he gets to the line quite a bit.

The Cavaliers have re-signed 34-year old center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Ilgauskas has sat out the last month after getting bought out by the Washington Wizards. Big Z has played in 53 games (6 starts) for the Cavs this season and he has averaged 20.5 minutes, 7.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Ilgauskas has played in 760 games (673 starts) in his career with the Cavaliers in which he has averaged 28.4 minutes, 13.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.7 blocked shots per game. This was a outstanding move for the Cavaliers who have the deepest frontline in the NBA even with Shaquille O’Neal out of action.

The Cavs have released 24-year old power forward Darnell Jackson. Jackson played in 27 games (0 starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he averaged 4.2 minutes, 0.8 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. He only shot 32% from the floor this season for the Cavs. In his two years with the Cavaliers, Jackson played in 78 games (2 starts) in which he averaged 7.0 minutes, 1.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. The Cavaliers are so deep on the frontline that they won’t miss Jackson at all. But, he should get a chance with another team this year because he does have talent.

It appears as if backup shooting guard Delonte West finally has put it together this season. In his last 4 games, West has averaged 31.3 minutes, 18.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals on 54% shooting from the floor. If West keeps this up he will keep playing the big minutes he has of late which will cost Anthony Parker some P.T. West has now played in 47 games (1 start) for the Cavaliers this season in which he is averaging 24.6 minutes, 8.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. West has been a big key to the Cavs’ success the last couple of years so it’s good to see him getting back into gear.

Antawn Jamison injured his left knee in the Cleveland Cavaliers 97-95 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.  Jamison had an MRI on the knee to see if there was any damage, and it turned out to be great news for the Cavs since there was no serious damage.  Jamison has been a great addition to the Cavaliers ever since they acquired him in a trade last month.  In 10 games with the Cavaliers, Jamison is averaging 17.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.7 steals.  Jamison described the knee as being stiff, so he is going to try and play this Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers.  LeBron James will also be returning Friday.  Shaquille O’Neal is expected to be out about another month with his thumb still healing from surgery.  The Cavaliers are expected to bring back Zydrunas Ilgauskas, who they can resign as early as March 22nd, so he can help fill Shaq’s void if the Cavs do pick him up again.  The Cavaliers are slowly getting healthy again and they should be at full strength when the playoffs start on April 17th.

LeBron James twisted his right ankle in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 99-92 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Friday.  He still had a monster game, finishing with 40 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.  His ankle was very sore and swelled a lot after that game though, and the Cavaliers’ superstar has since sat out two straight games.  The ankle injury does not seem to be serious and James probably could have played tonight against the Spurs.  The Cavaliers did lose in Milwaukee 85-92 without James, and in the past three years they are 0-7 without LeBron. That being said, I still think it is a good move by the Cavaliers to keep LeBron out for one more game.  That is because they have three days off after tonight’s game, so it gives his ankle almost a full week of rest and rehabilitation and the Cavs don’t have to worry too much about it getting worse or having him re-injure it.  LeBron is having another phenomenal season, and is likely the front-runner for the MVP with averages of 30.0 points, 8.5 assists, 7.2 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 1.0 blocks while shooting 51% from the field and 35% from three.

The Cavaliers shot 51.8% from the floor last night and they played good D holding the Nets to only 39.3% shooting from the floor which explains the ease of the win. The Cavs jumped out to a 35-15 lead in the first quarter and they were never really threatened the rest of the night by the Nets. LeBron James led the way for the Cavs last night with 26 points, 7 rebounds, 14 assists and 3 steals. J.J. Hickson got the start at center again and he was solid with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 2 steals in only 27 minutes on the court. Antwan Jamison was solid last night for the Cavs with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. Mo Williams scored 16 points and dished out 6 assists in only 28 minutes on the court. The Cavaliers are now 48-14 on the year.