On a night in which the Wine and Gold were without Shaquille O'Neal, the Cavs still held their own in the paint behind yet another solid performance by JJ Hickson.  Just two nights after setting a career-high in points, the sophomore forward shined again, scoring 20 points on 7 of 13 from the field in 38 minutes of work.

Cleveland led through three quarters of play but caved on a late surge by Utah and surrendered the lead  with 1:56 to play on a free throw by former Cavalier Carlos Boozer.  Then the King stole the show.  LeBron James scored the last 8 points for his team and finished the game with 21 points on 6 of 15 from the field while gathering 6 boards and finding his teammates on 9 assists.  The second half of the Cavs' dynamic duo, Mo Williams, added 21 points and 6 assists of his own on the night.

Cleveland continued their sweet-shooting ways from downtown, going 9 of 22 from deep.  Prized free agent acquisitions Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon led the three-point assault, canning four and three tres respectably.  Parker finished with 14 points on the night while Moon chipped in with a solid 11 points and 4 boards in just over 16 minutes of play.

After a rocky start, the Cavaliers have settled in and will carry a four game win streak back into the Q for Tuesday night's contest with the Golden State Warriors.

After beginning the 2009-10 campaign with back-to-back losses to Eastern Conference foes Boston and Toronto, critics began to claim the Cavaliers were overrated and Shaquille O'Neal was too old, too big, and too slow to play with the premier centers in the NBA.

 The last two games, however, the Wine and Gold have began the game by going right to their dominate post presence and setting the tone. In Wednesday night's matchup with Dwight Howard, it took O'Neal and the Cavs just over two minutes to force Superman into foul trouble. The Big Witness Protection nearly matched Howard point-for-point in the contest posting 10 points to Howard's 11 and controlled the paint for much of the night against Orlando's young superstar.

Thursday night's contest against the Miami Heat played out in a similar fashion. Cleveland established their presence in the paint early in the game, going right to O'Neal on each of their first two possessions. The result: Four points on 2 of 2 from the field. He completed that contest with 14 points.

The addition of Shaq added an unfamiliar dimension to the Cavaliers game plan this season and, therefore, produced a share of hiccups in the early going. But the Cavaliers carry their three game win streak back into the Q for Saturday night's contest against the Utah Jazz with their tanks running on Diesel.

Today's Forecast at Amway Arena: Cloudy with a chance of RAINDROPS!

In the first head-to-head matchup between the Cavaliers and Magic since last year's disappointing Eastern Conference Championship, the Cavaliers came out firing on all cylinders.

The Cavs immediately ran their offense through prized free agent acquisition Shaquille O'Neal and sent his protege, Dwight Howard, to the bench early with foul trouble.  King James and Company took over from there.  On their way to a 66 point performance through 30 minutes, the Wine and Gold shot 57.5% from the field and led by 15 at the midway point.  Mo Williams had the hot hand in the first half of basketball, connecting on all nine of his attempts from the field (four of which came from downtown).

Cleveland continued to dominate the game throughout the second half and found themselves leading 102-93 when the final horn sounded.  LeBron James finished the game with 36 points and 8 rebounds while his sweet shooting counterpart, Mo Williams, contributed a season-high 28 points on 4 of 5 from beyond the arc to go with 6 assists.

In the Conference Finals last season, the Cavs' weakness was exposed by Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic.  Cleveland GM Danny Ferry addressed the issue by picking up the Big Witness Protection from Phoenix on Draft Day and, tonight, the move played dividends.  While guarding each other, Shaquille O'Neal posted 10 points on 3 of 3 from the field and was fouled on five separate occassions.  Howard, however, managed only one point on 0 of 2 shooting.

Tonight's game didn't erase a disappointing end to last season but it was a confidence building victory for a team that has struggled to start the season.  Cleveland will tipoff in Miami at 8 pm tomorrow night against Dwayne Wade and the Heat.

LeBron James and his Cavaliers walked off the floor last year in Orlando completely unfulfilled with their, otherwise successful, 2008-09 campaign.  Tomorrow night will mark the first time the Cavs revisit South Florida since the defeat and the King will likely look to draw first blood in an attempt for a little revenge. 

Both teams experienced eventful offseasons in which the Cavaliers acquired the Big Witness Protection, Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, and Leon Powe while their Eastern Conference counterparts reeled in Vince Carter and Brandon Bass.  With their new look, the Cavs have posted a 4-3 record thus far while the Magic sit at a more impressive 6-2. 

The King leads his team into Amway Arena averaging 26.3 points per game and 8 assists while adding 7.7 rebounds per contest.  Anderson Varejao is coming off of an impressive sixth man performance in which he tallied 8 points and 14 boards.  Daniel Gibson has regained his rookie form and has been red hot from downtown shooting 50% from three in the first seven contests.

On the other side of the floor, Dwight Howarrd enters tomorrow night's contest averaging 20 points per game and just over 11 rebounds per contest.  Vince Carter will be back from an ankle injury that sidelined him earlier last week.

The Cavs will look to right the ship in a two day road trip in which they will challenge Dwight Howard and Dwayne Wade on back-to-back nights. 

Tip Off: 8:00 pm @ Amway Arena in Orlando, Florida (ESPN)

Just weeks after the Cleveland Cavaliers won the city's first team championship in 46 years, LeBron James has finally put pen-to-paper on a deal that will keep him in Ohio until at least 2016.

Obviously, with the season just two weeks underway that previous statement is just an optimistic opinion of mine.  But here are the facts:

TheBron has lived and breathed the state of Ohio for his entire life.  He has spent the last several months promoting a book during which he has claimed his family and friends to be the most important part of his life.  He made it a point to request that his MVP award presentation be in his old high school gym at St. V. 

Time after time, the King has displayed great acts of loyalty to his royal city of Cleveland.  His legacy will be forever tarnished if he turns his back on his friends, his family, and his home.

Mark my words Cleveland Fans: LeBron James will be a Cavalier.