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? 

It’s been a wild 72-hour ride for the Wine and Gold. And with a Saturday off before the Cavaliers’ rematch against Dwight Howard and the Magic, now’s as good a time as any to recap …

The events began, obviously, on Wednesday night, when the Cavaliers pulled off another major deal – acquiring Antawn Jamison and Sebastian Telfair in a three-team, six-player deal. The move came after days of rumors that Suns forward Amare Stoudemire was the object of Cleveland’s affection.

No one was surprised when Danny Ferry landed Jamison – who’d been on the Cavs radar since Gilbert Arenas imploded the Wizards. Most people, however, were surprised that Ferry was able to pry Jamison without having to give up prized prospect, J.J. Hickson.

But while the Cavaliers held on to Hickson, they lost one of the franchise’s all-time greats – Zydrunas Ilgauskas. And on Thursday morning, a visibly shaken Danny Ferry, one of Z’s closest friends in the franchise, announced that the deal had been made. The Cavs GM – who has to be an early favorite for Executive of the Year – didn’t acknowledge as much, but that had to be the toughest deal he’s had to make in his short but successful front office tenure.

“Obviously, personally, professionally for all of us, (Z) is a world-class person and a world-class player,” said an emotional Ferry. “And he’s been incredible for this organization and this city. But in order to add a player, you need to make some tough decisions. And we wish Zydrunas and his family nothing but the best.”

(On Thursday night, seeing “3 – TELFAIR” above the locker where “11 – ILGAUSKAS” had been a fixture was a sad and surreal experience for everyone.)

The player Ferry added was Jamison, who watched his new teammates drop a tough overtime decision to the Nuggets on Thursday night in Cleveland, despite LeBron James posting numbers (43 points, 15 assists, 13 boards) that haven’t been seen since Oscar Robertson – (also in the house on Thursday) – back in 1962.

The 33-year-old Jamison went from a team beginning a massive rebuilding process to one that should challenge for the title. Before the game, the soft-spoken Jamison addressed the media.

“People say good things happen to good people and that’s definitely a fact right now,” said the two-time All-Star. “I felt I’ve done things the right way and this is a great situation for me to be in. And I thank the Wizards organization for making this happen and the Cleveland organization as well.

“I just love what I do. I want to be the best. I want to be able to hold that Trophy up and be a part of something special.”

Jamison had been part of Wizards team that battled Cleveland in three straight postseason First Round matchups. And although most of the venom was reserved for DeShawn Stevenson and Agent Zero, Jamison is well-aware of the fans’ passion.

“This is truly a homecourt advantage,” smiled the former Sixth Man winner. “I’m happy they’ll be cheering for me instead of booing me. I love the fans, and this city’s something special. This is definitely one of the toughest places to play in and we hated and dreaded playing here.”

LeBron James remembers the duels with Jamison and knows exactly how tough he was.

“He was a guy that we had problems covering,” said James. “In the past we’ve had trouble covering a guy who could stretch the floor from the four position. Antawn was one of the guys we’ve had problems with, so having him on our team is a luxury for us.”

On Friday in Charlotte, not far where Jamison won the Naismith Award as the nation’s top collegiate player, Jamison got his opportunity to stretch the floor for the first time as a Cavalier. Unfortunately, he didn’t stretch the nets.

Battling nerves, a new system and a lack of action since before the All-Star Break, Jamison managed the worst shooting night of his fantastic career – going 0-for-12 from the floor, including a pair of air-balls and three shots blocked. It was the toughest game Jamison’s had in almost a decade, and he vowed to bounce back.

“Offensively, it was just one of those nights,” said Jamison, adding, “It’ll never happen again. I promise you that.”

Jamison’s off-night was only part of the problem for Cleveland, which dropped its third straight to the Bobcats. The Cavaliers defense lacked its first-half physicality and they were out-rebounded and out-assisted by double-digits. Alarmingly, all three of those losses were convincing defeats. Even the seven-point loss after Thanksgiving didn’t indicate the nature of the game.

(Jamison – who acknowledged that his teammates will likely chide him for taking the collar in his debut – was already getting the vibe of the locker room. Before Friday’s game, he had two sets of sneakers at his locker: a pair of Nikes and a pair of adidas. Mo Williams moved LeBron’s Air-Zoom 7’s to the front, proclaiming: “Welcome to the family.”)

Despite Friday’s 17-point loss, there was almost an air of relief in the locker room – as if the Cavaliers had weathered a tough 72-hour period in which they lost a teammate, gained a teammate and dropped a pair of games to the two clubs that have given them their biggest headache this season.

Now that the strange three-day stretch is over with – all the Wine and Gold have to do is travel to Orlando and try to take their third straight over the Eastern Conference Champs.

No problem.

Even reporters and media members that have seen their share of hoops shake their head over these Cavaliers.

Eight straight wins – six of those without Mo Williams, five without Delonte West.

On Sunday night, without the starting guard combo that won 66 games last year, the Cavaliers opened the offensive record books, scoring 46 in the first quarter and destroying a Clippers squad that hasn’t beat Cleveland since 2005.

January really does deserve a recap. During the month, Cleveland dropped three games by a total of six points. If not for Sundiata Gaines’ Hail Mary in Utah, we’d be talking about an 11-game run. In January, the Cavaliers discovered exactly what they have in Jawad Williams and Boobie Gibson, who’s averaged 13.0 ppg and notched double-figures in every game during Delonte’s absence.

The Diesel hit another gear in January. Shaq went from 9.9 ppg in December to an even 14.0 in January. When the offense is running smoothly, it’s running through Shaq and, as always, he’s constantly getting others involved. On the defensive end, he’s been a pillar. Cleveland’s entire mentality has changed around him. Shaq’s been the Cavs’ 21^st century version of Nate Thurmond.

There’s that, and LeBron hasn’t even been named Eastern Conference Player of the Month. Yet.

In January, James averaged 30.7 points, 7.3 boards and 8.5 assists – running the point in six of those games. LeBron shot .503 from the floor and averaged 1.4 blocks per game – including two games in which he swatted four and one in which he swiped Kevin Durant’s potential game-winner at The Q.

He is the best player in the world and another convincing win over Kobe Bryant should have – (but didn’t) – sway the national media. In just the second half of January, LeBron took down three superstars – Kobe, Kevin Durant and Dwyane Wade. In those wins, LeBron led in points (35.3 – 32.3), rebounds (7.7 – 7.0), assists (8.3 – 3.7) and field goal percentage (.463 – .392).

LeBron rapped up the month following Sunday night's clobbering of the Clippers.

"This is probably one of the best months we’ve ever had since I’ve been here," said the reigning MVP. "We had a lot of great months last year. The adversity that we had with guys going down probably makes this one of the best months we’ve had. We have guys that want to work, we have guys that want to win and we have guys that show up every day to get better. We know every game is different, the opponent is going to be different, but the one thing we can control is how we play. We’ve done this through the whole month." 

J.J. Hickson re-energized his season against the Lakers and, hopefully, he can carry that mojo into the second half. Anderson Varejao has been spectacular off the bench. Watching him hound a beleaguered Baron Davis for a loose ball at the end of a 46-point first quarter on Sunday was vintage Wild Thing.

The Cavaliers proved they could win tight games and lately have gotten back to blowouts. Defensively, they lead the league in field goal percentage (.432) and points in the paint (34.4). They outmuscle teams in the key by over eight points. They lead the league in games played on the road (27) and most wins in those games (19).

Cleveland has completely dominated the Western Conference, going 10-0 against the West at home this season; 24-1 over the last two. This year, they’re 18-5 overall; an amazing 44-9 since the start of last season.

What none of the numbers can truly tell, however, is what this year’s Cavaliers have above even last year’s 66-win team … Depth.

At the unofficial halfway point of the season, you have to give it to the Cavaliers’ brass. Each offseason move has paid off – especially in big games. Anthony Parker has been around the top 5 in three-point shooting all year, Shaq’s been a beast in wins over Orlando and the Lakers, and Jamario Moon’s been exactly the “long, athletic” wing player Cleveland was looking for.

When the Wine and Gold lost Jamario, they filled in with Jawad. When they lost Mo and Delonte – and they’re combined 24.3 ppg – they plugged Boobie in the starting lineup, made a D-League call-up and used LeBron at the point.

And all they did during the month of January, through all this, was continue to win. So with Mo and Delonte (and likely Leon Powe) due back this month, it could possibly get better for the Cavaliers.

Now if they could just figure out how to beat the Bobcats … 

Here are just some random ramblings from the West Coast trip that wrapped up with Saturday night’s win in Tinseltown …

• The Cavaliers needed Saturday night’s game against the Clippers. There was a collective exhale – you could see it in their postgame celebration – when Baron Davis’ shot fell short. It’s not that a 2-3 road trip would have been devastating. But losing the last two games on buzzer beaters would have sure made for a long flight home.

Instead of going to Alcatraz when we were in San Francisco, I wanted to check a couple things off my list: the Cartoon Art Museum and San Francisco’s famous Haight-Ashbury section. The Cartoon Museum exceeded all expectations – with rare Warner Bros. cells and Simpsons storyboards. One of the displays were the actual figures from Wes Anderson’s animated movie, “The Fantastic Mr. Fox.”

“The Fantastic Mr. Fox” is the best movie I’ve seen all year. It’s done in stop-motion animation and definitely not your standard Pixar kid’s flick. Hilarious performances by George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman. The best running joke is characters replacing cuss words with the actual word: “cuss.”

Haight-Ashbury was underwhelming. I didn’t expect Bob Dylan singing on a street corner, but it was definitely wasn’t the progressive hotspot I expected. I also learned that the tough part of San Francisco is called “The Tenderloin.”  

LeBron James is Elvis. The Cavaliers are rock stars. When the Cavaliers bus rolls in or out of an arena, fans go absolutely berserk. When LeBron is in a good mood, he’ll come down the isle of the bus after a game, saying “They love me!” in a funny high falsetto. LeBron gets it. He knows it’s serious and surreal and silly all at the same time.

LeBron was in a great mood before and after Saturday’s Clippers game. Charlie Sheen came into the locker room after the Cavs win, praising James for another great game and complimenting him on his documentary, “More Than a Game.” LeBron’s always the straw that stirs the drink, but he was on top of his game on Saturday – on and off the court.

As good as his mood was surrounding Saturday’s game, I’ve never seen LeBron more solemn – (read: angry) – than after Thursday’s loss to Utah. James scored 18 points in three minutes – overcoming an 11-point deficit – and the Cavaliers still lost. That should have been him plastered all over SportsCenter on Friday, not Sundiata Gaines.

LeBron James is the best basketball player on the planet. Period.

It was really nice to watch No. 23 going to work in the post against Corey Maggette in Oakland. LeBron is fantastic facing up, but he’s absolutely unstoppable in the post.

One of the highlights of the trip came during the Clippers game, when a fan named “Clipper Darryl” broke out the “U.G.L.Y. – you ain’t got no alibi” chant on Delonte West while he was shooting free throws in the first half. Delonte broke out into a big grin and patted the ball to the chant’s beat. He split the free throws and wound up back on the stripe on the next possession. Same thing from Darryl, but this time Delonte sank the pair. It was good see Delonte smile.

When the Cavaliers returned to the hotel after Saturday’s win, there was a huge bar mitzvah going on.  It was nothing but screaming (well-dressed, wealthy) little kids. They went nuts over how huge Shaq was. (It is pretty amazing in-person.) But, faithful to their hometown, they started chanting “Ko-be, Ko-be …”

When you’re on an extended road trip, the question of which NBA city is one’s favorite always comes up. Most the players say Miami, New York, L.A. or Dallas. Mine is Portland, hands-down. The hotel is old and ornate and allows dogs. The city is friendly and Oregonians strike me as West Coast Ohioans. And Portland has my favorite non-Cleveland watering hole in the country: Kelly’s Olympian.

Joe Tait hates hip cities. He always prefers Sacramento to San Francisco. His favorite might be Salt Lake City and he never, ever misses a chance to repeat his Herb Score line about Los Angeles: “The land of fruits and nuts.”

I feel bad for Daniel Gibson. All Boobie has done this year is shoot .477 from three-point range, good for the top spot in the NBA. Finally fully healthy, Boobie was in the midst of the best season in some time. You certainly can’t blame Coach Brown. The button he pushed with Jawad Williams since Jamario Moon has gone down has paid off in production and wins.

Jawad Williams has been the surprise of the trip, shooting .625 from the floor and giving Mike Brown big minutes in crunch time. The Cleveland native came into the junket with 25 DNP-CDs this season, but stayed ready. In L.A., a friend observed that Jawad has “a quiet, street confidence” to him. He does. And he’s one of the most well-respected guys on the team.

By about Day 8 on an extended trip, everyone gets a little chippy with each other. Then things get back to normal. It’s natural, when you’re considering the same 35-40 people – seeing each other every day, most of the day; traveling in a rolling or flying tube together.

Every now and then, you need to be alone. And one great snapshot was LeBron, for one of the few times ever, sitting alone at the hotel bar in San Francisco, having a quiet lunch alone.

It really is hard to believe Staples Center is the same arena for both Lakers games and Clippers games. They do a fine job for both, but a Clippers game is a game. A Lakers game is an event.

The one celebrity I really wanted to see in L.A. was Larry David. Instead, we saw Simon Cowell, cruising down the street in a Rolls-Royce convertible. We saw him while walking along Rodeo Drive, where neither I nor anyone I know could afford anything.

Why do the Nuggets always give the Cavaliers such problems? Is it the Denver altitude? Their uniforms?

LeBron and Shaq might be the team’s superstars, but there’s no more galvanizing figure – or naturally hilarious dude – than Anderson Varejao. Fans hate the Wild Thing on the road. Andy’s either surprised by it or doesn’t care. And in the locker room, on the bus or plane, during practice – he never stops entertaining. He’ll mess with anyone and he’s friendly with everyone. On the floor, he’s having a Sixth Man-type season.  

Mo Williams struggled from the floor on the trip, shooting just 35 percent – 26 percent from long-distance. Mo still notched double-figures in four of the five games and, more importantly, made a huge fourth-quarter save on Saturday night in a game the Cavaliers needed to have. (See Point 1.)

It’s kind of surprising that the Cavaliers would practice after getting in late on Sunday afternoon, but with a Tuesday night matchup with the Raptors (and Lakers rolling in on Thursday) Austin Carr said Monday’s practice will be to “get their mind off the road.”

The Cavaliers have played more road games (25) than any team in the league and are tied with the Lakers for the most wins. Their furthest trip west is San Antonio. They have a seven-game homestand starting at the end of this month and play only five back-to-backs for the rest of the season. Life is good.

And it is SO great to be back in Cleveland!