Good news tonight as Anderson Varejao, who has missed the last two games with a soar hip, will return to the Cavaliers lineup. He again will come off the bench against the Pacers, as J.J. will make his 7th straight start at power forward. In the starting lineup, Hickson is averaging 13 points and 4 rebounds a game. Mike keeps challenging J.J. to get those board numbers up through good box out technique.
The key match-up at 10 year-old Conseco Fieldhouse of course surrounds the two All-Stars, LeBron James and Danny Granger, who have had a few verbal duals in the past...nothing of note, just two guys going at each other. LBJ owns the lifetime series, 13-3, and remember, two seasons ago, had back-to-back triple doubles in trips in Indy. LeBron has become a premier defender of course, and that's where Granger wants to get to. Last season The NBA's Most Improved player earned his first All-Star berth, and now he wants to be known as an All-NBA Defender. Tonight though, look for Dahntay Jones to challenge LBJ a lot at the Cavs offensive end. He is a gritty defender who usually guards the opponent's best scorer and that was the case when he was in Memphis as well as Denver last season.
As a result, we'll see plenty of "cross match-ups"...LeBron on Granger at one end, Jones on the King at the other, which means J.J. or Anthony Parker will have to be ready to pick up Granger when the Pacers have the ball. That's assuming LBJ has to stick with Jones following missed shots at the Cavs end. It's one of the things to look for in this one.
See you on the broadcast tonight on Fox Sports Ohio...


Thats good that Andy's back. JJ has been good, and we've been winning, but I think Andy is better. His energy is so valuable to us.
Dominic06:32 PM EST