LeBron James looked almost like he was uninterested during the Cleveland Cavaliers embarrassing 120-88 loss to the Boston Celtics in game five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.  He only hit 3 of 14 shots, with all but only three shots coming outside of the paint.  Now that is not the LeBron we have grown accustomed to seeing over the years, who usually is an aggressive force taking it to the hole almost at will.  He settled for contested jumpers, including four missed three-point attempts.  During the second quarter, with the game still close, LeBron was aggressive and drawing fouls, taking 10 of his 12 free throw attempts in that quarter.  When the Celtics started to take over in the third quarter, that LeBron disappeared.  He took six jumpers in the third quarter and only connected on one.  It was the type of game where LeBron had to at least try and take matters into his own hands and keep attacking, but he kept settling for jumpers.  His half-hearted comeback attempt makes this LeBron’s worst game of his career in my opinion.  It wasn’t just because of his poor numbers, but it was the seemingly lack of effort that LeBron portrayed out there on the court, making it more than just an “off” game.  LeBron did not bring the same kind of intensity and aggressiveness he usually brings and it allowed the Celtics to jump all over the Cavs and not let up all game.  If LeBron doesn’t wake up and bring it like he can in game six, the Cavaliers are done and we could be seeing LeBron in a Cavs jersey for the last time.

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.

The Cavaliers are going to insert Antwan Jamison into the starting lineup at power forward for tomorrow’s game at home against the Hornets. Jamison has played in 2 games (off the bench) for the Cavs so far and he is averaging 28.5 minutes, 10.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.0 steal on 34.6% shooting from the floor. Jamison looked lost in his debut with the Cavs against the Bobcats when he was 0 for 12 shooting finishing with 2 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist in 26 minutes. But yesterday against the Magic in Orlando the Cavaliers got a glimpse of the real Antwan Jamison. He played 31 minutes before fouling out and he finished up with 19 points and 8 rebounds on 9 of 14 shooting from the floor. Look for the offense to be in high gear for the Cavaliers with Antwan Jamison bumping J.J. Hickson to the bench.

Anthony Parker is a outstanding shooter from long range as he is hitting 45.6% of his shots behind the three point line. But, the Cavaliers could use more than just that out of the shooting guard position which is usually reserved for a good offensive player. He has played in 46 games (all starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he is averaging 28.9 minutes, 7.1 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. The one thing that Parker does bring to the court every night is that he is a pretty good defensive player.

With Mo Williams out for a while due to injury the Cavs will need Delonte West and Daniel Gibson to step up. West will start tonight against the Lakers. He has played in 34 games (0 starts) for the Cavaliers this season and he is averaging 22.9 minutes, 7.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game. West can play much better than he has this season and the Cavaliers need him to step up starting tonight against the Lakers. The Cavs will likely also get Daniel Gibson out of mothballs. He has played in 36 games (0 starts) for the Cavs this season and he is averaging 16.6 minutes, 5.7 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Gibson is shooting 47.7% from three point range and the Cavs will be sure to take advantage of that skill whenever his is in the game. The Cavs are going to need big minutes out of Gibson at the point as long as Williams is out of action.