The Cavaliers may be about to experience how life would have been had they not won the NBA lottery.
Rookie LeBron James, who sprained his right ankle during a win at Utah during the weekend, is not expected to play Tuesday when Cleveland hosts Seattle.
"He wasn't walking too good on it," Cavs coach Paul Silas said Monday after practicing without his 19-year-old superstar and leading scorer.
Silas is planning for James to miss at least one game -- and perhaps a few more.
"We just have to make do until he comes back," he said. "If he doesn't play, somebody will have to step in and step up. We've got to win games."
If the potential loss of James wasn't bad enough, the Cavs learned they will also play Tuesday without center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
Ilgauskas received a one-game suspension without pay by the NBA on Monday for throwing a punch at Jazz center Greg Ostertag in Saturday's game. Ilgauskas' suspension will cost him US$150,000.
James (20.4) and Ilgauskas (14.1) account for more than one-third of Cleveland's scoring, forcing Silas to look elsewhere on his roster for points.
James scored 29 points before twisting his ankle when he landed on the foot of Utah's Andrei Kirilenko in the final seconds of regulation in Saturday's comeback win -- Cleveland's first at Utah since 1989.
The No. 1 overall draft pick was unable to put any weight on his ankle and was carried to the locker room. James was kept out of practice and received treatment Monday while his teammates worked out at Gund Arena.
James, who was on crutches at a high school game on Sunday, was not available for comment.
Though the Cavs continue to say there is a chance James may play today, a more likely scenario is that he will rest his ankle a few more days.
Cleveland hosts the Sacramento Kings tomorrow, and chances are James will do everything he can to be ready for it.
General manager Jim Paxson said there wasn't much swelling in James' ankle, but that it was sore.
"Ankles are different for everybody," Paxson said. "One guy could miss one or two games, another guy a week and another guy a month or two months."
knicks 90, raptors 79
Stephon Marbury had 28 points and 14 assists to keep coach Lenny Wilkens undefeated in his new job, extending the New York Knicks' winning streak to four games with a 90-79 victory over Toronto on Monday.
Playing their annual Martin Luther King Day matinee, the Knicks improved to 3-0 under Wilkens by defeating the team he coached the past three seasons. Toronto was without Vince Carter, who missed his second consecutive game with strained quadriceps.
"It's been a whirlwind," said Wilkens, who took over after Don Chaney was fired Wednesday. "I've been so busy. I haven't even had a chance to unpack my bags."
Allan Houston scored 17 and Kurt Thomas had 16 to help make up for a rare unproductive game from Keith Van Horn, who shot 1-for-9 and scored four points.
"Keith and Allan, they really didn't have it going. So in the second half I pretty much tried to take it upon myself to get guys involved and look for my shot a little bit more," Marbury said.
Jalen Rose had 22 points, Donyell Marshall added 21 points and 15 rebounds, and Chris Bosh had 18 points for the Raptors, who got only six points from their reserves.
Kings 125, Clippers 100
In Los Angeles, Peja Stojakovic scored 31 points as the Sacramento Kings routed the Los Angeles Clippers for their fifth straight win.
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