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.

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.

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.

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.

Starting center Shaquille O’Neal will be out for a little while due to a sprained right thumb. He has played in 53 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he is averaging 23.4 minutes, 12.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game. With Zydrunas Ilgauskas out of town the Cavs will turn to Anderson Varejao as the starting center while Shaq is out. Varejao has played in 57 games (6 starts) for the Cavs this season and he is averaging 29.3 minutes, 8.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 blocked shot per game. The Cavs will need J.J. Hickson to step up and replace Varejao as the first big man off the bench until Shaq returns to action. He has played in 58 games (51 starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he is averaging 19.4 minutes, 7.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. The Cavaliers should be o.k. until Shaq is ready to return to action.

UPDATE: O’Neal will miss the next 6-8 weeks as he recovers from thumb surgery. The Cavaliers are hoping that Zydrunas Ilguaskas will re-sign with them in the next 3-4 weeks.

26-year old forward Leon Powe will likely make his debut with the Cavs next week as his rehab work is almost over. The Cavs signed Powe to a 2-year deal over the summer knowing that he would miss at least half of this season. He played in 70 games (7 starts) for the Celtics last season and he averaged 17.5 minutes, 7.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. Powe has now played in 189 games (14 starts) in his NBA career and he has averaged 14.6 minutes, 6.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. This is great news that Powe is ready because it’s like the Cavs made a trade without giving anything up.

Starting point guard Mo Williams will miss some time with a left shoulder sprain. He will miss tonight’s game with the Lakers and he might also miss additional time due to the injury. Williams has played in 43 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he is averaging 35.6 minutes, 16.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He is also shooting 42.9% from three point range this season. The Cavaliers will really miss Williams’ toughness and willingness to take a big shot. They will also miss the fact that he brings the ball up the court every time. Without him in the starting line-up look for LeBron James to do this more. Despite having decent players below him on the depth chart the Cavs will miss him. They need Mo Williams to get well soon.

UPDATE: The Cavaliers will be without Mo Williams for the next 4-6 weeks due to his shoulder injury. This will likely hurt the Cavaliers quite a bit unless Delonte West and Daniel Gibson step up.

The Cavaliers will be without back-up forward Jarmario Moon for a week or two due to a strained abdomen. Moon has played in 31 games (0 starts) for the Cavs this season and he is averaging 17.8 minutes, 5.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. The Cavs will miss Moon’s energy and defense off the bench. Anthony Parker, Delonte West and Daniel Gibson will likely share Moon’s minutes while he is out of action.

Shaquille O’Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas were supposed to combine to give the Cavaliers outstanding production at center this season but that just hasn’t happened yet. Shaq has missed the last six games with a strained shoulder. He has played in 9 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he is averaging 24.3 minutes, 11.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game. Big Z has not stepped up while Shaq has been out of action. He has played in 15 games (6 starts) for the Cavs this season and he is averaging 24.9 minutes, 7.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.3 blocked shots. His shooting stroke has also been way off as he is only hitting 37.4% from the floor. The Cavaliers need both Shaq and Z healthy to get the team back to full force.