Cavs play at Indiana on Tuesday night. Play three Eastern Conference powerhouses in the nine days after.
Cavaliers forward Antawn Jamison (4) is providing points and rebounds in his new role -- coming off the bench.Cleveland, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers visit Indiana to play the Pacers on Tuesday night, the beginning of a four-game in five-day stretch for the Wine and Gold.
The Cavs will host the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night and visit the Orlando Magic on Friday night.
Then, three straight home games for Cleveland: The Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night; the Boston Celtics next Tuesday night; the Miami Heat next Thursday night.
The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com provides coverage of the Cavaliers, including game stories and news, along with feature stories, notes and other items about the team and the NBA.
AJ adjusts
Cavs forward Antawn Jamison, 34, is in his 13th NBA season. He's scored 17,227 points in the league.
Now, Jamison is coming off the bench for the first time in years. He struggled in the first three games this season, playing on a sore knee, then didn't play the next three games to rest the knee.
In the last six games, Jamison has shown he still has a lot of basketball left. He's averaged 15 points and 7.7 rebounds in just 26.5 minutes per game during the stretch, and is shooting 48 percent, including 42 percent on 3-point shots.
Bob Finnan writes about Jamison for the News-Herald and Lorain Morning Journal, quoting Jamison and referring to Cavs coach Byron Scott:
"It's been a while (since I've come off the bench)," he said. "You still have to go out there and compete."
Scott wants to keep Jamison at about 25 minutes a game.
"He's so effective in those minutes," the coach said. "I'll try to keep it around there."
Scott said he's happy with the way Jamison is playing.
"He's been great," Scott said. "He's been playing extremely well for us. In practice, he's been tremendous with his work ethic, leadership."
Jamison is comfortable with Scott's Princeton offense. His former coach at Washington, Eddie Jordan, ran a version of it.
"He's one of our best guys at moving," Scott said. "He feels comfortable and at home with what we're doing. He knows it. We have some twists and turns to what he did in Washington.
"He has a good feel for what we're doing. He makes it look easy with the way he understands the offense."
Need win at Indy
Zac Jackson of FOX Sports Ohio makes five observations about the Cavaliers, commenting on their weekend games, their defensive lapses and some bright spots, too.
He also notes:
What's ahead? More tough opponents. And a brutal schedule that includes four games in five nights this week, with the Cavaliers likely being the underdog in all four. Defense will be the emphasis, and the Cavaliers have to feel like they need a win Tuesday night at Indiana and can get one if (Mo) Williams plays well; he missed the loss to the Pacers at home eight days ago. The Cavaliers need production out of the small forward spot, improved defense and chances to run. That starts with getting stops and rebounds. It's only 12 games in, but the Cavaliers are facing a key stretch. That One Really Big Game is only 10 days away.
Fastbreak points
Forward "Jamario Moon's Player Mailbox" on NBA.com/cavaliers.
New edition of NBA team power rankings by Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
The Cavs' Tuesday night opponent, Indiana, plays at Miami tonight. Mike Wells writes about it for the Indianapolis Star, including an interesting quote from Pacers star forward Danny Granger.