Viva Varejao

Cavs blog by Bob Finnan

Cavaliers starting center Anderson Varejao had his best game since his serious ankle injury on Saturday with 15 points, 16 rebounds, a career-high six assists and four steals in the 103-95 win over Indiana.

He told me last week his left ankle is still not 100 percent. It's sore and there's still swelling. Zydrunas Ilgauskas could be close to coming back from a back strain. His presence will be a welcome sight, too, as will his 18-foot jumper.

A friend told me the other day that people will appreciate Z AFTER he's retired, and then they'll realize how difficult it will be to replace his talent. You just can't go out on the street corner and find 7-foot-3 guys with basketball skills like he possesses.