Cleveland Cavaliers

The Charlotte Bobcats signed veteran guard Larry Hughes to help with depth in the backcourt as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time.

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Boston's Glen Davis denies he intentionally tried to hurt Shaquille O'Neal in a game earlier this season, calling the accusations "crazy."
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It isn't usual to find minutes for a player by sticking him in the starting lineup but that is what Cavs coach Mike Brown did Friday.

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Contrary to public opinion, LeBron James is not indestructible.

Looking back on it, the 6-foot-8, 250-pound James endorsed coach Mike Brown's decision to have him sit out two games this week.

Brown needed to be proactive after injuries began to mount with James, the leading candidate to win the league's Most Valuable Player award. James had a sprained right ankle, a bruised left quadriceps and a sore back.

The league's leading scorer sat out against Milwaukee last Saturday and San Antonio on Monday.

"If I had to play, if it were the playoffs, I could have played," James said after practice on Thursday at Cleveland Clinic Courts. "(The ankle) wasn't that bad."

When Brown examined the schedule, he saw the opportunity for James to get some rest.
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ROTATION: Starters -- Point guard Mo Williams, Shooting guard Anthony Parker, Small forward LeBron James, Power forward Leon Powe, Center J.J. Hickson. Bench -- Forward Anderson Varejao, Forward Jamario Moon, Guard Delonte West, Forward Jawad Williams. PLAYER NOTES: --F Antawn Jamison (stiffness in left knee) missed the 76ers game on Friday. F Leon Powe, who didn't play in either of the previous two games, started against the Sixers and didn't score in 15 minutes. Jamison had an MRI at the Cleveland Clinic on Tuesday that showed merely a cyst, and he is considered probable for Sunday's game against visiting Boston. --F Darnell Jackson appears to be the odd man out when the Cavs sign C Zydrunas Ilgauskas on or near March 22. Bringing back Z would give the Cavs eight big men. "Eight good big guys," Jackson corrected. Jackson said he's a professional athlete that has to be ready for anything that happens. If Z comes back and Jackson is waived, the latter said he can't lose any sleep over it. "I don't worry about it at all," he said. "It's a business. Just like you're working in an office and your boss said he needs someone else and you're fired. I'm not worried about it at all. You can't argue with him. "I'll be excited about Z coming back. He's been here for a long, long time. This will give him a chance to come back and help us win a championship." --G Mo Williams has averaged 19 points in his last two games. Some had wondered how he'd respond to his 3-for-17 shooting night in Milwaukee last Saturday. "I'm not going to have too many games like that," he said. "You just have to put that game behind you. Mentally you have to get prepared. It's not really a physical thing at that point." MEDICAL WATCH: --F Antawn Jamison (stiffness in left knee) is out for the Philadelphia game. He's expected back for the Boston game on Sunday. --C Shaquille O'Neal (right thumb surgery) is expected to miss eight weeks. --G Sebastian Telfair (ruptured groin) is weeks away from playing.


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--Cavs coach Mike Brown said he hasn't seen or heard from C Shaquille O'Neal (right thumb surgery) since the New Jersey game on March 3. He said O'Neal and Cavs general manager Danny Ferry worked out a timetable for when the 7-1 center would return to the team and start working out. He's not expected back in the lineup until the playoffs in mid-April. --The Cavs allowed 66 points in the paint to the Sixers on Friday. That was a season high for a Cavs' opponent. The Cavs came into the game allowing just 35.8 points in the paint, lowest in the NBA. QUOTE TO NOTE: "(Former NBA guard) John Starks used to tell me, 'Forget the last play. Forget the last mistake. Play for the next play.' That's what I did. That's how you're successful in this league. The older you get, the more you can understand that. I'm at the point where I can cross the bridge and put a game like that behind me and come out and be successful the next game." -- G Mo Williams, on shaking off his bad night in Milwaukee last Saturday.


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Contrary to public opinion, LeBron James is not indestructible. Looking back on it, the 6-foot-8, 250-pound James endorsed coach Mike Brown's decision to have him sit out two games this week. Brown needed to be proactive after injuries began to mount with James, the leading candidate to win the league's Most Valuable Player award. James had a sprained right ankle, a bruised left quadriceps and a sore back. The league's leading scorer sat out against Milwaukee last Saturday and San Antonio on Monday. "If I had to play, if it were the playoffs, I could have played," James said after practice on Thursday at Cleveland Clinic Courts. "(The ankle) wasn't that bad." When Brown examined the schedule, he saw the opportunity for James to get some rest. The All-Star forward is seventh in the NBA in minutes played at 39 per game. "I've always been a guy who wants to play every game," James said. "Looking back on it, it was the right decision to give the injuries I had some rest. "I needed to take some time off to help my body. It's not often you can look at the schedule and get a week off and miss only two games. We took advantage of it." James said he "regenerated" with the time off. "I got a lot of treatment and exercise to where I can definitely close out the season," he said. "It's a blessing at this point in the season. We had only two games in a week. I took advantage of it and Coach allowed me to do it." CAVALIERS 100, SIXERS 95: LeBron James had a triumphant return after a two-game absence with 23 points, six rebounds and 10 assists for the Cavs. He recorded his 26th double-double on the season. The Cavs (51-15) swept the season series with the Sixers for the first time since the 1996-97 season. They've also won seven in a row in Philly. Cleveland improved its league-leading road record to 23-11. The Cavs might not have won if not for the contribution off the bench of forward Jamario Moon, who had nine points, four rebounds and a key three-pointer in the fourth quarter. The Cavs' reserves outscored the Philly bench, 44-20. Guard Mo Williams had 21 points for the Cavs, who host Boston Sunday afternoon. Delonte West added 17 points, including a key steal in the last minute. Swingman Andre Iguodala had a game-high 30 points for the Sixers (23-42).


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Here's what a glimpse at the NBA standings tells us about the Cleveland Cavaliers and their chase for the NBA's best record, which would assure them of homecourt advantage through the playoffs: The Cavaliers, at 51-15, own the best record in the Eastern Conference and the league.

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Cavaliers forward Antawn Jamison is expecting to play Sunday when Cleveland hosts the Boston Celtics in a game between division leaders.

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INDEPENDENCE: Their last game against the Cavaliers is not a good memory for the Boston Celtics. The Celtics enjoyed a big lead in the first quarter before giving it up as the Cavs ran away in the fourth quarter for a 108-88 win in a nationally televised game.
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Cavaliers forward Antawn Jamison is expecting to play Sunday when Cleveland hosts the Boston Celtics in a game between division leaders. Jamison missed Friday's win against Philadelphia because of a cyst behind his left knee. He said Saturday he thought he could have played against the 76ers, but team doctors advised him to rest.
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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte Bobcats have signed veteran guard Larry Hughes to help with depth in the backcourt as they attempt to reach the playoffs for the first time.

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