Seems like addition by subtraction, no? Gibson should have been starting anyway.

Gibson coming off the bench was working very well. This hurts our bench, though Sasha was NOT playing well.

Sucks, Sasha was just starting to get it together.

At least this may open the door for Shannon Brown to get some PT.

They started Whatsisname, the player so anonymous I've never managed to learn his name. Ira or Neva or Ethel or something.

What's that about?

Ira plays good defense, I guess. (Man, to think he and Eric Snow were our starting backcourt for an extended period of time a few years ago. Ha!)

I think they're really in love with the bench they're currently using, with Booby focusing solely on scoring and not having to worry about running the offense. I really like that bench too.

Damon Jones has been playing much better, too. Ira contributes virtually nothing, so moving Larry to the 2 and starting Damon Jones would be fine by me.

Just as a side note, is Donyell Marshall still alive?

Yeah, Ira Newble. Certainly not in there for his offense (note the ABC announcers making fun of his wayward shot) but seems to play some nice defense. Kobe had a good game but Newble did a fine job on him. Got some nice boards at the end of the game too. I'd personally like to see more Devin Brown.

And yeah, Marshall is still alive and I believe should be back sometime soon. I thought I heard this but can't confirm. Anybody know anything on this?

From the ABJ...

For the first time since Nov. 2, Donyell Marshall was on the active roster Friday. He missed nearly three months with wrist and finger injuries. With the Cavs playing well and their big men producing at a high level, Marshall doesn't figure to get into the rotation for the time being.

''It's hard to find minutes for him right now,'' Brown said.

• Assistant coach Hank Egan, who had triple-bypass surgery last month, has returned to the team part time. He is not traveling with the team and isn't on the bench during the games, but the goal is to get him back soon.

Well, with Varejao's new ankle injury, this is actually a very nice time to get him back. I hope he's ready for minutes.

Yeah, sounds like Andy's out for a few weeks, so Donyell would be welcome.