CLEVELAND, Ohio — The tentative deal on a new collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and its players — expected to be ratified within the next 10 days — calls for a 66-game regular season schedule, beginning on Christmas Day.

The season will likely open with a triple-header featuring six of the league’s most high-profile teams.

The Cleveland Cavaliers would almost certainly begin their season on Monday, Dec. 26 or Tuesday, Dec. 27.

The Cavs have numerous flaws — as their 19-63 record last season indicates – but they do have depth at point guard.

Certain to get significant time leading the offense is Kyrie Irving, the first overall pick in last June’s draft. Irving played just 11 games at Duke last season as a freshman because of a toe injury, but there was a general consensus that he was one of the two or three top players available in the draft.

Cleveland’s returning point guards include Baron Davis and Ramon Sessions, and also Daniel “Boobie” Gibson, who also sometimes plays the two-guard despite his lack of height.

Davis, despite being the most accomplished of the Cavs’ playmakers, is considered a candidate to be waived under an “amnesty” provision in the new collective bargaining agreement. Davis, 32 and about to begin his 13th season, is owed about $27 million over the remaining two years of his contract. The amnesty clause will allow a team to waive one player without having his contract count against the salary cap, although that player would still be paid and become available to other teams.

Cavaliers fans are quite familiar with Gibson, whose entire five-year NBA career has been spent in Cleveland. Gibson endeared himself to fans during his rookie season with some clutch outside shooting that helped the Cavs reach the NBA Finals. Gibson, his height generously listed at 6-2, has ample experience at both point guard and shooting guard.

Sessions has played four NBA seasons, coming to the Cavaliers in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves prior to last season. Sessions played 26.3 minutes per game in the 2010-11 campaign, averaging 13.3 points and 5.2 assists while leading the Cavs with 47 percent shooting from the field.

Sessions and Gibson are both considered to have some trade value. It would surprise many observers if Davis, Sessions and Gibson are all on the opening day roster, to go with Irving, the Cavs’ certain point guard of the future and, maybe, the present.

Some pundits believe Sessions, 6-3, could play some at the two (shooting) guard spot. He’s not a pure outside shooter, but has proven that he can get to the basket. 

A Cavaliers blog, Fear The Sword, features a player profile of Sessions. Conrad Kaczmarek asks Aaron McGuire about Sessions’ abilities as an NBA point guard. McGuire answers (the “18-4-8″ referring to Sessions’ point-rebound-assist averages in February):

I’ve always been a fan of Ramon’s game — sure, he’s not a shooter, and he penetrates too often. Certainly wouldn’t make a good guard on a team with, say, LeBron and Wade. But he’s the kind of guard that at his best can make one or two truly crafty passes per game, rebound better than virtually any non-Kidd point in the league, and get you buckets when you’re in a crunch. He’s fearless, and that’s a big plus at the NBA level. It’s true that his defense is among the worst of anyone at the guard position in the league, though. And while I think that given a starting role in his prime he could come close to his February numbers (18-4-8 with a 20-22 PER is his season-average ceiling, I think), his defense and lack of a good shot is always going to keep him from reaching that “franchise point guard” tier. Still. I think at his peak Ramon could be a top 15, fringe top 10 point guard in the league. And as he’s a willing backup guard, he could potentially be the best backup guard in the league. A good peak value, I’d say.

With the lockout apparently over, Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Cavaliers coverage is about to kick into full gear. Terry Pluto talks about the Cavs, along with the Browns and new Ohio State football coach Urban Meyer, in a podcast today. Pluto earlier wrote that having an NBA season is good news for the Cavaliers as they continue to rebuild.

Baseline to baseline

Baron Davis looks forward to playing in Cleveland, but he does understand there is a chance he could be waived. By Ramona Shelburne for ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Fear The Sword featured a player profile on Daniel Gibson, by Conrad Kaczmarek and Aaron McGuire. And, Kaczmarek provides an early preview of the team.

A new wrinkle in the NBA’s tentative labor deal could benefit teams below the salary cap, like the Cavaliers, Jason Lloyd writes for the Akron Beacon Journal.

Baron Davis hosts a charity game in Los Angeles. By Eric Pincus for HoopsWorld.com.

On NBA.com/cavaliers, an excerpt from the book, “Joe Tait: It’s Been a Real Ball.” Tait, the Cavaliers’ radio announcer who retired at the end of last season, wrote the book with The Plain Dealer’s Terry Pluto.

The Cavaliers should keep Baron Davis, Dylan Lowther writes for the Bleacher Report.

A Cavaliers records quiz on NBA.com/cavaliers.

If Baron Davis is waived by the Cavaliers, several teams — contenders, especially –will likely show an interest in acquiring him. For the Bleacher Report, Thomas Galicia wonders whether the Miami Heat would be interested in Davis, and Mike Chiari writes that Davis would be an ideal fit for the Los Angeles Lakers.

It is no secret that the Cleveland Cavaliers have a battle facing them with what is left of this season. We have some real talent, but it seems that the Cavs are somewhat like a puzzle that is missing the most critical pieces. With the first game less than a month away, it is time to start thinking about who will likely be the five starters to kick off the Cavs’ 2011-12 NBA season.

For the first game, we will likely see Baron Davis(notes) – given that amnesty does not take him away – starting as point guard. If amnesty “kicks in”, then it will likely be Ramon Sessions(notes) starting. A lot of people want to see Kyrie Irving(notes) starting on day one, but Byron Scott is not the type of coach to do this. He will put experience on the floor first. Joining either Davis or Sessions will be Anthony Parker(notes), Anderson Verejao, Antawn Jamison(notes) and Omri Casspi(notes).

Having Verejao back is definitely nice and will certainly be beneficial. His energy is extreme and he lends a lot to the team.

We have to hope that Davis remains with the team because while he is definitely talented, it is his leadership that the Cavs need more than anything.

Casspi will go with the flow and is not a take control player. This is another reason that we need a leadership player so badly.

Jamison is not the strongest defender, but he is talented offensively. He is also a veteran that can lend some leadership to the team along with Davis.

Anthony Parker is not young anymore, but he still has some good plays in him, as well as experience.

Will the Cavs do better than last season? Well, they really cannot do worse. They have talent, they just need to figure out where to put the talent on the floor. We have a steep, uphill battle for what remains of this season, but if the Cavs are anything, they are fighters. They will continue to fight and play and give the fans something to watch.

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and still lives there. She was raised a Cavs’ fan and has remained loyal through all of the teams ups and downs. She remains confident that the Cavs will bring home a championship at some point in her life.

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Baron Davis(notes) just joined the Cleveland Cavaliers rather late last season, but the new collective bargaining agreement has an amnesty provision that the Cavs may take advantage of that could result in Davis playing elsewhere. He is owed somewhere around $27 million over the next two seasons and if the Cavs want to bring on more players and do not want his salary counting against the salary cap, the point guard may have to take his talents elsewhere.

Davis brought a new energy to the Cavs last season and I and many other fans would hate to see him go. It seems Davis does not want to go either. When talking about possibly being waived by the Cavs, Davis remarked, “come on, don’t start that. When the season starts, when training camp starts I’ll be a Cleveland Cavalier until they tell me otherwise. I know my name has come up with the amnesty thing, and a lot of people have said I’m going this place or I’m going that place. My whole thing is to be ready for the season to help any team that I’m on. I welcome any challenge.”

It is no secret that Davis makes big bucks and this could impact who else the Cavs may bring on for what is left of this season. However, Davis also brings experience, talent and the ability to motivate the team. He has the ability to mentor Kyrie Irving(notes) – the Cavaliers new rookie point guard – and has stated that he would like the opportunity to do this.

It seems that the Cavs have been moving their veteran players and while this strategy may benefit them long-term, the fans would like to see at least some progress this season. Keep Davis, keep Jamison and work with them and what they have to rebuild a team that can win. Cleveland fans are incredibly loyal so we will stick around, but it would be nice to give us something to cheer for.

R. Elizabeth C. Kitchen was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and still lives there. She was raised a Cavs’ fan and has remained loyal through all of the teams ups and downs. She remains confident that the Cavs will bring home a championship at some point in her life.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Scott Raab, the author of The Whore of Akron: One Man’s Search for the Soul of LeBron James and a writer for Esquire Magazine, joined Toucher & Rich to discuss stories involving Delonte West, the way the media covered the Cleveland Cavaliers and of course, LeBron James.

Raab covered the 2009-2010 Cavs team that included West, who moved on to play with the Celtics last season.

“Late that summer, he’d been arrested outside of D.C. strapped with three weapons including I think a shotgun and a guitar case. Just an awful series of events, a marriage that was falling apart and he was off his meds and it profoundly affected that team,” Raab said.

Several stories came out of Cleveland to try to make excuses as to why LeBron blew big games. Were they fabricated by people close to LeBron?

Raab also revealed that the Cavaliers partied the night before a 2010 playoff game and then fell to the Celtics in dramatic fashion.

Also, why does LeBron say it’s so easy to win when he never has?

Raab also discussed getting hate mail from LeBron’s die-hard fans and how LeBron has become one of the most hated athletes in sports.

Listen to the segment:

Toucher & Rich: Scott Raab On Delonte West & LeBron James

With the NBA lockout over and a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement reached, the Cleveland Cavaliers are set to play regular season basketball within a month. A 66-game regular season will start on Christmas Day and will run until April 26, 2012. The playoffs are scheduled to begin on April 28, 2012.

Each team will play 48 in-conference games and 18 non-conference games. The full breakdown of these games is as follows, via NBA.com:

Conference Games: 48

• Play 6 teams 4 times (2 home, 2 away)

• Play 4 teams 3 times (2 home, 1 away)

• Play 4 teams 3 times (1 home, 2 away)

Non-Conference Games: 18

• Play 3 teams 2 times (1 home, 1 away)

• Play 6 teams 1 time at home

• Play 6 teams 1 time away

Back to Back to Backs: All teams with at least 1; no more than 3

Playoff Back to Backs: Possible in second round

The heavier dose of in-conference games might work in Cleveland’s favor considering the Central Division was the worst in the NBA last season outside of Chicago and the Eastern Conference is generally considered to be weaker than the Western Conference. Further, Cleveland’s youthful roster might benefit them during the more condensed NBA schedule.

The official, full team schedules have not been released, but the Cavaliers were originally scheduled to host the Toronto Raptors on Dec. 26 and it is possible that they will still do so.