So I arrived at The Q tonight and I'm greeted by one of the Cleveland Cavaliers' public relations staff with the news that LeBron James is out with back spasms for this evening's festivities against the Sacramento Kings.  Of course I react with disbelief because James' play has been as close to perfection as you get in recent weeks (33.3 points per game since Feb. 11).  He obviously knows what time of year it is.

Most fans would expect that given play like that the Cavs would fall flat tonight.  Some could have considered it a test.  I considered it more like a quiz.  If the team is indeed in full playoff mode than they should have been able to knock of the Kings who owned a record of 28-34 coming in. 

It's a quiz they passed with ease and left an impression.  Someone needed to step up tonight and instead everyone in the starting line-up did so, as each rang up double figures.  Larry Hughes had 25 points, Sasha Pavlovic dropped a career high 25, Z ripped off 19 and 10 boards for a double-double and Drew Gooden also contributed a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.  But the most impressive job of them all may have come from the guy given the unenviable task of stepping into James' shoes.

Ira Newble, whose named has been associated with the letters D-N-P for much of the season, came up with 12 points (including 3-for-3 shooting on three pointers) and seven rebounds.

Was it a perfect win?  Nope.  The team looked sluggish for much of the first half and they hoisted treys as if they were soon to be banned by the league.  Still, what they accomplished without James bodes well for the continuing run to the playoffs.

Last week LeBron James made the statement that he was getting ready for the playoffs when asked about his production in recent games.

Apparently one statement has never been so true - at least after tonight.  I purposely held off judgment on LBJ and crew until after this particular game.  This game is a benchmark for the second half of the season.  It showed Cavs fans a number of things.

Including:

LeBron James has a switch that shifts to "on" after the All-Star Break.  I'm not suggesting that James has been dogging it for much of the season, but you cannot deny that there's a certain intensity that you see in his eyes that was lacking for much of the season.  Read tonight's stat sheet and you'll find 41 points. Just as importantly, however, look at the intensity in his eyes and in those of his teammates.  That was lacking for much of the season.

Will that guide the Cavaliers deep into the playoffs?  No one knows, but I certainly like what I see of this version of the team than I do the one who played from the beginning of the season until mid-February.

I don't know whether he was slacking or pacing himself, but LeBron James has found a second wind and is ready to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers on his back and carry them into the playoffs.

Consider tonight that LBJ tallied more than 29 points for the eighth game in a row when he dropped 32 on the Houston Rockets.  The difference in his game has been noticeable since just before the All-Star break.  While he settled for jump shots much of the time then, he's being more aggressive going to the hoop more now, yet his the jump shot is still working.  When he's able to drive and hit the J, he's unguardable.  What continues to be troublesome, however, is the inability to hit free throw shots. 

Also give some much deserved respect to Larry Hughes, the man brought in to be James' Scottie Pippen.  So far - primarily due to injuries - Hughes has been missing in action.  Apparently not anymore because as go  James, so goes Larry.  And Hughes knocked down 22 points Monday night.

It's tempting to think what could be if James and Hughes, along with help from Andy Varejao, Zadrunas Ilgauskas, Sasha Pavlovic and a benched bolstered by two rookies - Daniel Gibson (though currently injured) and an energized Shannon Brown.   But I'll wait, thanks.  There are six weeks left in the NBA - an eternity and the Cavs' current surge of energy could dissipate as quickly as it arrived.

Two nationally televised games and two victories.

Yes, that's a good thing.  In dismantling the Miami Heat this past Friday, the Cleveland Cavaliers accomplished what they should have in the prior week - they spanked Dwyane Wade and his crew.   In the prior meeting, the Cavaliers gave the game away.  In Friday's they chilled the Heat.  LeBron outplayed D-Wade and all is right with the world.

Sunday LeBron lost the battle to Kobe Bryant, but the team beat the Lakers 99-90.  It wasn't a dominating performance, but it was - for the most part if you don't count the third quarter - consistent basketball.  LeBron didn't play particularly well and that's a good thing because we're finally seeing other players - Booby Gibson, Anderson Varejao - step up.  What has been most noticeable, however, is two things.

First is the fact that after begging Coach Mike Brown to allow them to play a more uptempo game, the players' instincts appear to have been dead on.  And then there's Sasha Pavlovic, who has displaced Damon Jones as the first ''small" off the bench.  Pavlovic, whose play lacked consistency in the past, has been the epitome of it in recent games.  He hit for 21 against the Lakers and over the past seven, he's averaged 14.3 points per game. 

What the Cavs have been showing in recent games is that they can win when LeBron isn't at his best.   That is something they will need if they're going to go as deep or deeper into the playoffs this season.

I love it when people blame the media for reporting problems that other people create.  In this case I'm talking about he New York Knicks - Denver Nuggets brawl that took place last Saturday and with the dishing out of fines Monday was set to die.

Then little Stevie Francis of the Knicks has to open his hole and make the asinine statement that this fight's coverage is race-biased.  PLEASE.  I'd sincerely like to know what alternative universe Mr. Francis resides.  Wait, it's one where you have a multi-million dollar salary and you're coddled from the moment someone realizes you're good with a ball until the day you've used up all of those skills.

Francis doesn't get it.  A few players are to blame for the NBA's image woes.  Without mentioning any names (Ron Artest), they single handedly ensured that the any on-court fracas would get maximum coverage when they leaped into the stands to go mano y mano with fans.  While I don't deny there's an element of racial bias in some news reports, sorry this isn't one of them.

It was an ugly sight watching a group of players go after one another (but, hey at least they didn't go after any fans), but it was a story - primarily because the NBA has that thugh image that's perpetrated by a few individuals with questionable character.

I also don't buy into the media race bias because I've seen plenty of hockey fights or muggings end up on ESPN's SportsCenter.  Todd Bertuzzi anyone?  Then there's the numerous bench-clearing brawls that hit the airwaves during baseball season.

Francis' comments go back to that little being coddled thing.  When someone wipes your nose for you for most of your life, you only possess a sense of entitlement and never ever a common sense compass.

Whenever you read ridiculous statements such as that, it always helps when someone else makes sense.  For that, it was good to hear members of the Cavaliers act as a voice of reason on the topic.