Cavs Take 2 Steps Forward, 1 Step Back

It's funny how the timing works out. Ben Wallace hasn't played for the Cavs since Feb. 26 due to a broken right leg, and Anderson Varejao missed Cleveland's last game with a banged up wrist. The Cavs finally had the entire team back on the practice court on Tuesday ... but learned today that rookie J.J. Hickson will miss the next two to three weeks with a sore back.

Truth be told, losing Hickson is hardly a huge blow for the Cavs -- he's barely played of late, and with both Wallace and Varejao available, he wasn't going to play much going forward -- but it's still horrible timing on the eve of the playoffs.

Fortunately neither of Cleveland's prospective first-round dance partners (it'll almost certainly be Detroit or Chicago) have a dominating post presence. In fact, looking ahead, neither do Miami or Atlanta, the current No. 4 and 5 seeds, should when Cleveland advances to the second round.

If the Cavs are going to make a serious run, though, they'll inevitably encounter an opponent with a dominating frontcourt, whether it's Dwight Howard and the Magic in the Conference Finals or any number of potential Western Conference opponents in the Finals. Hopefully by then Hickson will be back in action, because they'll need as many healthy big men as possible to take turns manning the post and racking up fouls.