The trainer's table giveth; the trainer's table taketh away.

On Friday night, the Cavaliers will once again be without the services of starting center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas - shelved for the second time this season with a sprained left ankle that he suffered contesting a Donyell Marshall three-point attempt on December 12.

Ilgauskas hasn't quite been himself since returning to the lineup. He came back with a bang - going off for 23 points in a December 19 win in Denver. But since then, his highest scoring output has been 11 points and he hasn't grabbed double-digit boards. The Large Lithuanian was being evaluated at the Clinic after Friday morning's shootaround. He is listed as day-to-day.

Ilgauskas' production has diminished recently, but it's not all the big man's doing. The Cavaliers have attempted 27 three-pointers per contest over the last three. Two of those games were wins, but all three were a struggle, and all against teams weaker than Cleveland in the post.

Anderson Varejao will get the start in place of Ilgauskas. The Wild Thing's been great this season, but he doesn't give the Cavaliers what Z does - especially in floor-spacing. Andy's jumper has improved, but he's not the perimeter threat that his favorite teammate is. And Varejao in the starting lineup obviously weakens Cleveland's bench.

On the positive side of the injury update, Wally Szczerbiak returns to the lineup after missing the home-and-home series with Miami. Szczerbiak had been suffering from knee contusions and needed a couple games off. His return doesn't cause a seismic shift in the rotation, but Coach Mike Brown is glad to get him back.

"When (Wally)'s playing, we have a nice little rhythm with our rotation," said Brown. "He's a guy that allows us to go small and still have a physical presence. Wally's a guy that plays very physical on both ends of the floor and it doesn't matter who he's guarding, he's going to stick his nose in and try to ruffle some feathers."

Mike Brown will have to adjust his rotation once again on Friday night and possibly on Sunday afternoon in the nation's capital. Of course, that shouldn't be a big problem for the reigning Eastern Conference Coach of the Month.

On Friday, for just the second time in his career - (how is that possible?) - Brown was named the East's top coach. In December, Brown led the Cavaliers to an NBA-best 12-2 (.857) record. The Cavaliers are off to their best start in franchise history and remain the only undefeated team at home this season.

During the month, Cleveland led the NBA in point differential (13.0) and held their opponents to an NBA-low 85.9 points per game while ranking second in opponent field goal percentage (42.6) and third in opponent rebounding (37.9).

Of course, Brown handled the award with his usual modesty and selflessness.

"(Awards) are nice to have, but I'm just fortunate to be with a terrific bunch of guys - a great coaching staff and a great team. So, although it may have my name on it - it's a team thing for me."

There's really no secret to the Cavaliers' winning formula. They're off to one of their best starts in team history at 10-3, a place they haven't been since the opening of the 1988-89 season - a year they went on to win 57 games. Cleveland is one of three undefeated teams at home and has won nine of their last ten, overall.

On the surface, it's easiest to point to LeBron James - the two-time reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week. The young King leads the league in scoring at an even 30.0 points per game. He had what some would consider an "off-game" in Saturday night's win over Atlanta and still finished with 24 points, eight dimes, seven boards and a pair of steals. He was a perfect 7-of-7 from the stripe.

But anyone who's paid any attention to the Wine and Gold knows that it's more than James (who's also logging a career-low in minutes). The Cavaliers formula for success has been their frequency and consistency at the line, their ability to protect the basketball and, of course, their commitment to defense.

All or most of this can be credited to the Cavaliers' guards, who have been as good as advertised. Mo Williams has averaged 21.6 ppg over his last five outings, simultaneously running the team to perfection. In those games, he's averaged less than two turnovers per contest and didn't record a single miscue in 37 minutes of action on Saturday.

Delonte West has been just as strong at the two-guard spot. Over his last five games, West is shooting an even 50 percent from beyond the arc and an eye-opening .529 from the floor overall. (Pretty amazing considering Zydrunas Ilgauskas - who's having a nice season shooting the ball himself - is at .507.) In that five-game span, West is averaging 35 minutes per game and averaging 1.6 turnovers per contest in that time.

Over their last six games, the Cavaliers are turning the ball over less than 12 times per contest and have given it away in single figures twice during that stretch. They only had three at the half in Detroit, before unraveling and finishing with 14.

"(Limiting turnovers) the key to success," said West following Saturday's win. "In this league, you can't turn the ball over. Guys are too talented and quick - it's like a wide receiver getting two steps on you. Once you turn the ball over, you put your defense in a bind and it leads to easy buckets and momentum swinging in the opposite direction."

"That's our goal: to keep our turnovers down and to get a quality shot on every possession."

For as good as West has been on the offensive end, he's been just as solid defensively - especially against bigger guards. On Tuesday, he held Vince Carter to 3-for-12 shooting. On Saturday, Joe Johnson was a first-quarter layup from taking the collar - finishing 1-for-8 for four points in 32 minutes.

As far as the Cavaliers killing it from the line, on Saturday night they shot .913 (21-23) from the stripe - the best mark since going .917 (22-24) three years ago in a loss to Minnesota. They've shot 80 percent or better on free throws in seven of their 13 contests - all victories. As a team they're shooting .786 from the stripe. Last season they shot .717.

Mo Williams has missed just a single free throw all season (and it cost fans their Chalupa, aggravating them and LeBron James) and even Big Ben Wallace is at .556 - almost .140 better than his career average.

Speaking of LeBron getting aggravated, the Cavaliers travel to the New York this week, where the Chosen One will undoubtedly be barraged by questions about his free agent year of 2010. It's unclear how many different ways pundits can ask the same question and still receive the same answer, but we'll find out tomorrow night at the Garden.

Luckily for LeBron, some of the New York media will actually be focused on the new-look Knicks, who are purging their roster rapidly and will have Al Harrington, Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas making their Big Apple debut on Tuesday.

The Wine and Gold's matchup with the high-octane Knicks tips off a brutal Thanksgiving week that will see them play four games in five days. Following their trip to New York, the Cavaliers welcome OK City to The Q on Wednesday. On Friday, Golden State rolls into Cleveland and Mike Brown's men travel to Milwaukee for a rematch with the Bucks on Saturday night.