The Cavaliers will be without 24-year old shooting guard Daniel Gibson for at least the next five games due to a sprained ankle.  Gibson has played in 32 games (11 starts) for the Cavs so far this year and he is averaging 29.3 minutes, 13.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.  The Cavs are really going to miss Gibson’s shooting stroke as he is hitting 44% of his shots from three point range so far this year.  This is just another bad break for the woeful Cavaliers.

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.

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.

Small forward Joey Graham and power forward Leon Powe are both likely to miss the next week for the Cavaliers due to injury.  Graham has played in 16 games (8 starts) for the Cavaliers so far this year and he is averaging 19.3 minutes, 7.1 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Anthony Parker has replaced Graham as the starting small forward with Daniel Gibson taking over as the starting shooting guard.  But, Graham really helps the Cavs off the bench so they are going to miss him unless Jamario Moon or Jawad Williams step up.  Graham has a bruised quad.  Leon Powe has a nasty cut on his finger injured on the rim.  Powe can’t even grip a ball right now.  He has played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Cavs so far this year and he is averaging 12.1 minutes, 4.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

UPDATE:  Graham is now going to miss 2-3 weeks with his quad injury.

35-year old center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is also returning to Cleveland tonight to play against the Cavaliers.  I expect Big Z to get a rousing ovation and the ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ chant when he’s introduced as the Heat’s starting center tonight.  Unlike, Queen James, Ilgauskas has class.  He sat out with the Wizards last season to return to the Cavaliers to try to win a championship.  I don’t blame him at all for signing on with the Heat to try to win a championship but I hope he doesn’t get one.  Ilgauskas has played in 19 games (10 starts) for the Heat this year and he is averaging 17.9 mintues, 6.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.  Big Z is also shooting 56.8% from the floor and 78.6% from the free throw line as he has been a asset of the Heat this year.

Unlike LeBron James, I think Zydrunas Ilgauskas will someday see his jersey hanging from the Quicken Loans Arena roof.  Ilgauskas played twelve seasons for the Cavaliers and he’s all over the record books of the Cavs.  Ilgauskas is the Cavs’ all-time leader in games played (771), rebounds (5,904) and blocked shots (1,269).  Big Z is also the Cavs’ #2 all-time scorer with 10,616 points.  Maybe Queen James should have learned from Big Z how to have some class.

25-year old LeBron James makes his first return on the basketball court to the city of Cleveland where he is going to be public enemy #1!  It wasn’t the fact that James decided to leave Cleveland that has Cavs’ fans so fired up….it’s how he did it.  He also dogged the city of Cleveland early on after his “decision”  and that won’t be forgotten any time soon.  Unlike Art Modell who moved the Browns and never had to return to Cleveland, LeBron James is going to have to do it every year until he retires from the NBA.  That makes him now the most hated man in Cleveland and he will take the brunt of the venom of all Cleveland sports fans for the rest of his time in the NBA.  James has not been his old self in Miami this year.  He has played in 19 games (all starts) for the Heat this year and he is averaging 37.4 minutes, 23.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1.6 steals and a shocking 4.2 turnovers per game.  His shooting has also been awful as he is only hitting 44.8% from the floor, 28.6% from three point range and 78.3% from the free throw line this year.  James is going to be brutalized mentally in this game as the fans who once cheered him are going to say a lot of nasty things about him and his crackhead momma.

Someone asked James if he would like to have his number retired in Cleveland and he pretty much said yes.  If his number ever gets retired it won’t likely be while he is alive to enjoy it despite being all over the Cavs’ record books.  James is tied for #7 in Cavs’ history in games played (548), he is #4 in rebounds (3,861), #2 in assists (3,810), #1 in steals (955), #4 in blocked shots (482) and he is the Cavs’ all time leading scorer with 15,251 points.  I think Pete Rose has a better chance of getting into the Hall of Fame than James has of seeing #23 hanging from the rafters at Quicken Loans Arena.

Queen James is going to get what he deserves tonight.

Starting point guard Mo Williams will likely miss a couple of games due to a groin injury. Williams has played in 5 games (4 starts) so far this year for the Cavs and he is averaging 26.4 minutes, 14.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. His shot has been a little off so far this year as he is only hitting 36.2% of his shots from the floor. Ramon Sessions will replace Williams in the starting lineup starting tomorrow night. Sessions has played in 8 games (4 starts) for the Cavs so far this year and he is averaging 24.6 minutes, 11.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Sessions is also having shooting issues so far as he is only hitting 38.8% of his shots from the floor but I have a feeling that he’ll do a solid job filling in for Williams.

The Cavaliers have released 23-year old SG/SF Danny Green. Green played in 20 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Cavaliers last season and he averaged 5.8 minutes, 2.0 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. He didn’t shoot very well from anywhere on the basketball court last season as he hit 38.5% from the floor, 27.3% from three point range and 66.7% from the free throw line last season. Green is a D-League type player so some team might pick him up and give him a chance to try to earn a spot on the bench.

The Cavaliers tried to make a sign and trade deal with a couple of teams involving Shaquille O’Neal but to no avail. So the Diesel decided to sign a 1-year deal with the Celtics. O’Neal played in 53 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers last season and he averaged 23.4 minutes, 12.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. The Cavaliers could have given Shaq more money if he wanted to return but with his career nearing an end he wanted to play for a title contender and the Celtics fit the mold. This just means that Anderson Varejao will be the starting center and I think he will do a solid job for the Cavs in his new role.