I wrote an article about a month ago that maintained that Anderson Varejao, while certainly deserving, is a longshot to win this year’s Sixth Man Award.

Andy doesn’t put up huge numbers off the bench – although he’s notched double-doubles in his last two contests. He rarely gets a SportsCenter moment, the way Jamaal Crawford or Jason Terry might. If the Wild Thing is featured on “the worldwide leader” it’s for being on the receiving end of an amazing pass from LeBron.

But on Sunday, Varejao again illustrated his value to the Cavaliers. The Celtics had no answer for his quickness, his athleticism, his energy.

In Andy’s last two games against Boston, he’s 12-for-15 from the floor, averaging 10 boards per contest. And maybe more importantly, he drives Boston’s bigs out of their mind. Kevin Garnett can say what he wants, but even a casual observer can tell that the Brazilian drives him batty.

“I wouldn’t say he gets under people’s skin, but he is high energy, he plays with a lot of energy,” said the future Hall-of-Famer. “He’s in a system and they have a nice rhythm with him. He knows his place on this team and he doesn’t come out of his role.  At the same time, he’s effective and he’s aggressive. He’s one of the keys. If you want to beat Cleveland, you have to definitely take care of Anderson.”

In the 10 games following the Cavaliers’ three-game losing streak, Andy is shooting .707 from the floor (53-75) and averaging 8.8 boards per outing. He’s notched double-figures in every game but one and the Cavaliers
are 9-1.

When Shaq went down, it would have been easy for Mike Brown to simply insert Anderson into the starting role at center. Instead, J.J. Hickson remains in the starting lineup, allowing Andy to do what he does best: wreak havoc off the bench. (And when Shaq returns, he won’t even have to worry about foul trouble.)

“As a teammate, we kind of take him for granted,” said LeBron, following Sunday’s 11-point win. “You know he’s going to be active, going to play his butt off every single game and give it his all.  (On Sunday), he was a big lift for us as we were undermanned size-wise, but our group did a great job defensively.”

The Cavaliers bench is much stronger than it was a year ago, when Wally Szczerbiak, Ben Wallace and Boobie Gibson were your reserves heading into the playoffs. This year, it’s Varejao and Delonte West – who could start for most teams at either guard spot.

In that same 10-game timespan, Delonte has topped double-figures in every game but two, including Sunday’s four-point effort against his old club. (The Cavaliers were still +22 with West on the floor.)

Delonte has been rock-solid on both ends of the floor, including a 27-point outburst with LeBron on the shelf and a four-game stretch in which he didn’t commit a single turnover.

The Celtics were once in the Cavaliers’ head, but that no longer looks to be the case. Remember, the Jordan Era Bulls had to vanquish the Celtics and Pistons before they established themselves as the Conference – and league’s – big dogs.

Boston’s big acquisitions – Rasheed Wallace, Michael Finley, Marquis Daniels and Nate Robinson – were a combined 3-for-21 from the floor on Sunday afternoon.

After going 3-6 against Boston, Orlando and the Lakers last season, the Wine and Gold is currently 6-2 against those three this year – with an Easter Sunday battle in Beantown and an afternoon affair against Orlando at The Q one week later.

Cleveland’s magic number to clinch the Central Division is 2, to clinch the East is 10, and the overall top seed over L.A. is 12.

The Cavaliers are still a work in progress, especially at the free throw line, where they’re shooting 72 percent as a team. (They’ve actually been worse by nearly 40 percentage points since the Diesel’s been out.)

Almost unbelievably, the Cavaliers will continue that work until season's end with a pair of pending moves that could shift the rotation again. But if there’s one thing this team has proven it can do, it’s the ability to adapt to changes and continue to win.

Three days between games during the season seems like a really long time.

It’s quiet.  Too quiet.

Back around the holidays – when Cleveland spent 18 of 30 days on the road, including Christmas Day in L.A. – the Cavaliers looked forward to a favorable schedule in the second half. And here it is.  (The Lakers, on the other hand, played 17 of their first 21 at home, and have recently looked like they were paying for it.)

LeBron broke the minutes-played mark in franchise history last week – currently clocking in at 21,610 – and was pushing the envelope on minutes again this season (2,458) when Mike Brown decided to give him a week’s rest – buying a win over San Antonio without LeBron, Shaq and, in stretches, Anthony Parker and Antawn Jamison.

Jamison didn’t seem overly concerned after Monday’s win and looked equally unfazed on Tuesday.

“I’ve gotten treatment the last day or two and definitely feel better than what I did after the game, so I want to take it slow, make sure we don’t rush anything, take the proper precautions,” said Jamison. “But if it was a big game, I’d definitely be ready to play, so everything feels pretty good right now.”

Since going 0-for-12 in his Cavalier debut in Charlotte, Jamison is shooting .527 from the floor, averaging 18.7 points and 8.5 boards per contest. He’s 7-1 as a starter and has the only other 30-point game by a Cavalier all season.

One mysterious flaw in Jamison's game has been at the free throw line. After a perfect night from the line in his tough debut, Jamison is shooting just .444 from the stripe – only six points higher than his percentage from beyond the arc.

Jamison has a lot on his plate, and logic dictates that he’ll work his way up to his 73 percent career mark. He’s been everything the Cavaliers expected when they got him – a pro’s pro. Hopefully, his knee problem is a passing issue.

“I’m not a young buck anymore, I’m getting a little old,” quipped Jamison, following Tuesday’s practice. “But (the knee) is something that’s definitely not that serious as far as surgery or something that can linger on for the next month or so.”

The time off comes at a perfect time for a Cavaliers club that’s slightly banged up. On Monday night, Anthony Parker had his left ring finger “reduced” – which is really the least painful way of describing the injury. (Anyone who’s ever had their finger “reduced” in a basketball game knows that’s true.)

Mo Williams joined Parker, getting his digit twisted during Monday’s physical matchup with San Antonio. Williams – who finished with 17, 8 and 8 – still stepped up and canned two free throws with nine seconds to play that sealed the deal.

LeBron took in the whole affair in pinstripes and saddle shoes – getting his second straight game off. The Cavs had been 0-9 since 2007-08 with the young King out, but they did their resting MVP proud on Monday, becoming the first team to 50 wins.

One night later, while they sat home and nursed those various bumps and bruises, the Cavaliers clinched a playoff spot without lifting a sore finger as Miami lost to Charlotte.

The Cavaliers lead Orlando by five games in the East and have run away with the Central for the second straight season.

With a rare three-day break, the Cavaliers can get some rest before a stiff test in Philly, followed by another meeting with the Celtics – who Cleveland clobbered less than two weeks ago in Beantown.

Going 1-1 – with one against the Spurs – with a well-rested LeBron for this weekend and the rest of the season worked out as well as can be for the Cavalier.

Every team is suffering through bumps and bruises right now. It’s just a matter of when those players will be nursing their injuries somewhere on a beach – in April or in June?