By RICK NOLAND

Assistant Sports Editor

INDEPENDENCE — Ten wasn’t perfect for the Cavaliers, but eight has been enough.

Cleveland coach Mike Brown began the season trying to use 10 players, but he’s shortened his rotation to eight over the last two games, both impressive victories.

The starting lineup —LeBron James, Ben Wallace, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Delonte West and Mo Williams — has remained the same throughout, but the only bench players Brown has used when the last two games have been in doubt have been Daniel “Boobie” Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak and Anderson Varejao.

That has left Sasha Pavlovic and rookie J.J. Hickson as the even-men out, but the Cavaliers are still thrilled with the fact they have a lot of available options as they prepare to host the Indiana Pacers tonight at 7:30 at Quicken Loans Arena.

“You can see the depth we have,” James said. “We’re bringing starters off the bench. Daniel has started games for us, Wally has started games for us, Andy has started games for us. Sasha can also come off the bench and play. J.J. is going to continue to get better. Lorenzen (Wright, who played instead of Hickson in the opener) has played big minutes. T.K. (Tarence Kinsey) can play.

“Our bench is loaded if we need anybody to come in.”

Brown, who will likely try to get Pavlovic and Hickson some minutes here and there, loves his options, but he’s been even more impressed with the vocal support reserves have provided from the bench.

Kinsey, an extremely religious and polite young man who prays during the national anthem each night, has been the biggest cheerleader, with Hickson and Wright also joining in.

“All the guys on our bench are extremely active,” Brown said. “We have more talk, more help from our bench than I’ve ever had since I’ve been here. The support those guys are showing the guys out on the floor is tremendous. It’s a good feeling and it’s helped us the last couple games.”

The real help, of course, will come when guys like Pavlovic and Hickson are needed on the floor.

“If somebody has an off night, somebody else can step in,” Ilgauskas said. “If you want to be a good team, you have to have that.”

Injuries are also bound to occur during an 82-game regular season, but the Cavaliers are much better equipped to handle them than they’ve been in the past.

“We have a big picture,” James said. “We have big goals. We’re going to need everybody. From the guys in suits (on the inactive list) to the guys who are playing 30 and 40 minutes a night, our bench is really what’s keeping us afloat.”

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BIG BEN JOINS WORM: With 13 rebounds and no points against Dallas and 14 boards and no points against Chicago, Wallace joined Dennis Rodman as the only player in NBA history to collect at least 13 rebounds in back-to-back games and not score. Rodman did it for San Antonio on Nov. 10 and 12, 1993. “He’s a workhorse,” James said of Wallace, who had six offensive rebounds against Chicago. “His impact is great. He doesn’t need the ball, but he continues to give us extra possessions at the offensive end.”

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JAMES GANG: James’ 41-point game against Chicago was the 25th 40-point game of his career. The Cavaliers are 20-5 in those contests. … In his last two games, James is 28-of-31 from the foul line (.903). He’s made at least 10 free throws in each of the last two games, the 10th time in his career he’s had back-to-back games of 10-plus. … James has scored at least 30 points against the Bulls, who host the Cavaliers on Saturday, in six straight games. The only other players to do that against Chicago have been Nate Archibald (9 from March 10, 1972 through Oct. 10, 1973), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (8, Feb. 13, 1971-Feb. 20, 1972) and Oscar Robertson (7, Dec. 2, 1967-Nov. 9, 1968).

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BY DESIGN: Brown confirmed the 3-pointer Ilgauskas hit against Chicago — he’s now 6-of-39 over his 11-year career, including 1-of-2 this season — was part of the offense. “That’s a designed play,” he said. “When he’s open on that corner three, let it fly.” The play starts with James and Williams playing pick-and-roll and Ilgauskas moving to the corner, but the 7-foot-3 center may broaden his 3-point shooting horizons in the future. “Don’t tell him this, but even if he was on the wing, I’d be OK with (a 3-point attempt),” Brown said. Ilgauskas, whose last made 3-pointer had come on Jan. 22, 2005, delighted in showing season statistics to his teammates Thursday at practice. “I’m the best 3-point shooter on the team right now — 50 percent,” he said.

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KEEPING PACE: The Pacers (1-2) are expected to start Danny Granger (25.3 ppg), Troy Murphy (11.7), Jeff Foster (3.7), Marquis Daniels (14.7) and T.J. Ford (17.3) against the Cavaliers (3-2). Indiana’s top players off the bench are Jarrett Jack, Rasho Nesterovic and Brandon Rush.

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TIP-INS: James suffered a slight sprain to his left ankle against the Bulls, but is not expected to miss any action. … The Cavaliers were 28-of-33 at the line (.848) against Chicago. The last time Cleveland made at least 28 free throws while shooting .848 or better was Nov. 30, 2005, against the Los Angeles Clippers (40-47, .851). … The Cavaliers have not been outrebounded in five games this season. … West is 10-of-15 on 3-pointers over the last three games.

Noland may be reached at rickn@ohio.net or 330-721-4061.

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