Lance Allred – The Cavaliers signed him to a couple of 10-day contracts and then eventually brought him in for the remainder of the season. However, Allred only saw action in three games and I’d be incredibly surprised to see him out there. Having said that Allred is a lot more interesting than many end of the bench guys because he had an unorthodox childhood (huge understatement), has 80% hearing loss and should probably hate Rick Majerus. Hat tip to Hardwood Paroxysm for the previous link. Also check out HP for an interview with Allred. Seriously the brief poker game anecdote is awesome.

Devin Brown – Since entering the league in 2003 he has played in Utah, Denver, San Antonio (twice), New Orleans and now Cleveland. That journeyman persona was only enhanced when Brown joined the squad shortly before training camp. Every team in the league has a guy like Brown. He is the player that does a lot of little things to help the team win, is appreciated by the coaches and is not well known beyond the home fans. You think he was a part of Will Malice’s Unsung Player Day? Of course he was. Embarrassing aside. Occasionally I’ll watch a Cavs game and for a split second I’ll think Brown is LeBron James. The same thing happens with Adonal Foyle and Dwight Howard. We’re talking a split second here and I’m definitely not proud of it. I should probably keep that to myself actually.

Daniel Gibson – The former Texas Longhorn came to prominence when he caught fire in game 6 of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals against the Pistons. Gibson finished the game with 31 points and five 3-pointers. That shooting prowess was on display again at the Rookie/Sophomore game over All Star Weekend in New Orleans. Gibson did battle injuries this season, is more of a 2 than a 1 and will probably hate the Cavaliers during the off season, as is the custom with Cleveland’s recent restricted free agents.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas – Big Z averaged 14 and 7 and put forth a huge effort – 21 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks - against the C’s back in February. While I respect his game I also like his slow, deliberate place. That’s how Boston prefers to play. Finally I’m always amazed by how much he towers over everyone else on the floor.

LeBron James – He rose to prominence in the era of AAU, high school stars jumping straight to the pros, blogs, ESPN News, a zillion magazines and an oppressive amount of hype. And yet starting sometime after last year's All Star Break you could make the case that the hype has not been enough. Does that ever happen? Seriously he averaged 29.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.7 assists and was an afterthought in the MVP race. That’s outrageous. On top of that he may be the strongest guy in the league. I don’t need to write too much more because he will be a huge topic of conversation throughout the series. But I’ll close with this. If you watch a few James interviews, post game press conferences or really anytime he speaks you'll notice that he references his role as the leader of the Cavs a seemingly disproportionate amount. Watch for it.

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