28-year old starting center Anderson Varejao is going to miss this weekend’s games against the Bulls in Chicago on Saturday and the Mavericks at home on Sunday.  Varejao has played in 30 games (all starts) for the Cavs so far this year and he is averaging 32.0 minutes, 9.3 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game.  He is the one player the Cavaliers just can’t replace because of the toughness, defense and rebounding that he brings to the court every single night.  26-year old Ryan Hollins will likely replace Varejao in the starting lineup.  He has played in 27 games (2 starts) for the Cavs so far this year and he is averaging 12.9 minutes, 4.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  It would be nice if 22-year old J.J. Hickson would step up with Varejao out of action.  Hickson has played in 31 games (20 starts) for the Cavaliers so far this year and he is averaging 22.5 minutes, 10.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  He’s a better player than he has shown so far this year.  The Cavaliers have also recalled 21-year old PF/C Samardo Samuels from the D-League.  Samuels played in 2 games in the D-League and he averaged 14.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.  Samuels has played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Cavs so far this year and he is averaging 4.5 minutes, 3.3 points and 1.0 rebound per game.  With Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson also hurting the Cavaliers could have a truly brutal weekend.

Mo Williams didn’t play due to a hip problem and Stephen Jackson & D.J. Augustin combined to drop 60 points on the Cavs last night which were the big reasons for the loss last night.  Ramon Sessions led the way for the Cavs with 22 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists off the bench last night.  Antawn Jamison (18 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist) and J.J. Hickson (12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in 23 minutes) also helped out the Cavs’ cause last night.  Alonzo Gee made his Cavs’ debut last night as he contributed as he finished up with 3 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot in 27 minutes.  The Cavaliers are now 8-24 on the year.

The Cavaliers were only down 1 point heading into the 4th quarter tonight before the roof caved in.  The Magic outscored the Cavs 35-21 in the final stanza and that did them in.  The Magic shot 50.6% from the floor and an amazing 19 of 31 (61.3%) from three point range!  Antawn Jamison led the way for the Cavs tonight with 21 points and 3 rebounds.  Daniel Gibson got over his case of the flu and he finished up with 15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Anderson Varejao outplayed Dwight Howard big time tonight as he finished with 14 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 5 steals and 3 blocked shots.  Mo Williams (14 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Ramon Sessions (12 points in 21 minutes) both played well at the point in this game for the Cavs.  The Cavs have fallen to 8-23 on the season.

The Cavs have signed 23-year old SG/SF Alonzo Gee.  Gee played in 16 games (5 starts) for the Spurs & Wizards earlier this year and he averaged 9.1 minutes, 2.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.  He has now played in 27 games (7 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 12.1 minutes, 4.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Gee is shooting 46.1% from the floor and 63.6% (7 of 11) from three point range so far this year.  With the Cavs hurting offensively don’t be surprised if Gee gets a chance to show what he can do quickly.

28-year old point guard Mo Williams is on a roll lately as he has a double/double streak of 5 games in a row.  In his last five games, Williams is averaging 38.8 minutes, 19.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 11.4 assists per game.  Williams has now played in 25 games (24 starts) for the Cavaliers so far this year and he is averaging 30.8 minutes, 15.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game.  His shooting is still down overall (40.5% from the floor and 28.3% from three point range so far this year) but it’s picking up as of late.  If the Cavaliers don’t start winning some games soon I think they are going to deal Williams to a contender.

The Cavaliers have sent rookie forward Samardo Samuels to the D-League.  Samuels played in 4 games (0 starts) for the Cavaliers so far this year and he was averaging 4.5 minutes, 3.3 points and 1.0 rebound per game.  The Cavaliers wanted to get Samuels some P.T. instead of being nailed to the bench.  I think he will be back with the Cavaliers at some point this season when they decide to go young.

The Cavaliers have waived 27-year old small forward Jawad Williams.  Williams played in 26 games (1 start) for the Cavaliers this year and he averaged 15.0 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.  He only shot 32.5% from the floor and 28.9% from three point range this year for the Cavs.  Williams played in 90 games (7 starts) in parts of three years with the Cavs and he averaged 12.8 minutes, 3.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game.  He shot 36.9% from the floor and 31.3% from three point range in his career with the Cavs.  Small forwards that can’t shoot aren’t too valuable so I don’t think the Cavs are going to miss Jawad Williams too much going forward.

The Cavaliers held the Timberwolves to 38.8% shooting from the floor but it just wasn’t enough to win in the end.  Antawn Jamison led the way for the Cavs last night with 24 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot last night.  Anthony Parker had his best offensive game of the year last night with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 steal.  Mo Williams filled up the stat sheet with 17 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot last night.  J.J. Hickson was electric in only 12 minutes on the floor as he had 11 points and 5 rebounds.  The Cavaliers are now 8-22 on the season.

The Cavaliers didn’t play any D tonight as they Hawks shot 50.6% from the floor and it did them in.  Antawn Jamison led the way for the Cavs in this game with 23 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots.  Mo Williams was solid too with 18 points, 2 rebounds and 11 assists.  Daniel Gibson only shot 4 of 12 from the floor as he finished up with 12 points and 2 assists.  The Cavaliers are now 8-21 on the season.

The Cavaliers were outrebounded 44-34 last night and it really hurt them in this game.  Daniel Gibson led the way for the Cavaliers in this game with 29 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals on 7 of 8 shooting from three point range.  Mo Williams was only 5 of 15 shooting from the floor but he still finished with 16 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists.  Antawn Jamison was only 5 of 17 shooting from the floor but he still finished up with 13 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals.  Anthony Parker (11 points) and J.J. Hickson (10 points) also pitched in offensively.  The Cavaliers are now 8-20 on the year.