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.

Last year LeBron James promised to enter the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest, and he recently took back that promise and will not be participating in the competition in Dallas during the All-Star Weekend.  First off, LeBron should have kept his word and shown his stuff in the dunk contest this year.  Shaq has a great idea that just may change LeBron’s mind.  Shaq has come out and said that all of the big stars who can throw down in style like Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, and yes…his teammate LeBron James should participate in a high-stakes ($) dunk contest this year with at least half of the winnings going to the victims of the Haiti Earthquake.  It seems doubtful that this high-stakes, star-studded contest will happen, especially since the contestants have already been announced.  They are two-time winner Nate Robinson (Knicks), Gerald Wallace (Bobcats), Shannon Brown (Lakers), Eric Gordon (Clippers), and DeMar DeRozan (Raptors).  My pick is the high-flying Shannon Brown, but it would be great if the stars would listen to Shaq’s idea.  It would bring a lot of the excitement back to what has become a pretty dull event, while also providing aid to the tragedy in Haiti.

When Anthony Parker signed with the Cavs he was slotted to back-up Delonte West but he was forced into the starting line-up due to West’s off the court problems. He has responded by playing in 29 games (all starts) for the Cavs this season and he is averaging 28.7 minutes, 7.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. Those are not great numbers for a starting shooting guard in the NBA, but, he has been a deadeye from three point range hitting 50% from behind the arc. Still, Parker better pick up his game if he wants to stay in the starting line-up because Delonte West is starting to get his act together lately off the bench for the Cavs.

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.

The Cavaliers are lucky that they signed Anthony Parker over the summer because Delonte West is a mess right now. He has played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Cavs so far this season and he is averaging 19.1 minutes, 4.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. The Cavaliers would probably like to trade West but he has little value right now because of his legal issues and the fact that he is bipolar. The Cavs seem to be missing something without West on the basketball court so they need him to pick his game back up.

The Cavaliers got a nice win over the sinking Miami Heat last night. LeBron James led the way for the Cavs with 28 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. Zydrunas Ilgauskas also had a good game with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Drew Gooden pitched in with 11 points and 5 rebounds. The Cavaliers improved to 22-18 on the season with this win.

Mike Brown is proving that he’s not a good coach by starting Larry Hughes out of position at point guard over Daniel Gibson who has played well all season. Hughes has been hoisting brick after brick all season long because he thinks he’s a jump shooter and he’s not a good one. Hughes is a shooting guard who is best on the fast break or on drives to the basket. Hughes has played in 19 games so far this season for the Cavs and he is averaging 28.1 minutes, 9.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He is shooting an awful 32.7% from the floor and 26.7% from three point range which just proves that he should take a seat on the bench. Daniel Gibson on the other hand is an outstanding shooter as he’s hit 47.1% from the floor and 48.7% from three point range which is outstanding. Gibson has now played in 31 games this season for the Cavs and he is averaging 33.2 minutes, 12.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. He deserves to start and play big minutes.