Published: Monday, December 26, 2011, 9:03 AM     Updated: Monday, December 26, 2011, 9:14 AM

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Cleveland, Ohio – Welcome to today’s edition of Starting Blocks TV, hosted by Branson Wright.

Which team do you think will win the 2012 NBA title. That’s the question in today’s Starting Blocks poll.

Today’s guest on SBTV is Plain Dealer Cavaliers beat writer Tom Reed, who is predicting the Oklahoma City Thunder to prevail over the Miami Heat.

Tom is checking in from this afternoon’s Cavs practice in Berea, and he says the Cavaliers are trying to build a foundation with rookies Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson. He says Irving will need to keep working on his defense, and Thompson on his offensive moves. Reed also says the Cavs realize they are going to have to run to get easy baskets until the half-court offense comes around.

He also talks about whether he thinks veteran forward Antawn Jamison will be with the Cavs at season’s end.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Read More: Baron Davis (G – CLE), Daniel Gibson (G – CLE), Semih Erden (C – CLE), Omri Casspi (F – CLE), Manny Harris (G – CLE), Cleveland Cavaliers

Another day of hectic training camps, another day of injuries to report. The Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves with a couple significant ailments, the least of which isn’t to Baron Davis, who missed his fourth-straight day of practice. His third was Tuesday, when he was seeking a second opinion, and according to the Plain Dealer, the second opinion didn’t have good news. Davis is out indefinitely with a bulging disc, though the current estimate is two-to-three weeks.

In other news, Semih Erden is officially out three weeks with a broken thumb. Daniel Gibson missed practice with a tooth extraction which, obviously, shouldn’t keep him out long. Omri Casspi is day-to-day with a right knee sprain. Lastly, Manny Harris was shooting after practice, but officially missed practice, and is projected to be out for two weeks. 

The Plain Dealer is calling Harris’ injury, officially, a foot ulcer. The two weeks is currently a loose figure.

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Gotta run!.

Thanks for reading! .

To no one’s surprise, the Cavs will likely cut ties with veteran point guard Baron Davis. The Plain Dealer reports: “The Cavaliers and agents representing the 32-year-old Davis spoke Thursday to discuss his future with the franchise, The Plain Dealer has learned. Earlier in the day, Yahoo Sports reported the Cavaliers had planned to waive Davis through the amnesty clause once the new collective bargaining agreement became official. The Plain Dealer has not confirmed the Yahoo report, but a league source said no decision had been reached as of late Thursday night … The Cavaliers are under the impression they will have access to their $14.5 million trade exception, which can be used in whole or in part. How this might involve Davis is not known. What’s also uncertain is how much Davis’ desire to be a free agent was driving Thursday’s discussions. To this point much of the focus has been trained on the team’s decision, but it could be Davis wants a chance to play for a contender and is seeing what the Cavs can do to facilitate it. Just two days ago, sources told The Plain Dealer the Cavaliers would take a methodical approach to arguably its biggest preseason decision, perhaps letting Davis play an exhibition game or two before reaching a verdict.”

That’s all the news for today.

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.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

Welcome to today’s edition of Starting Blocks TV, hosted by Chuck Yarborough, as Branson Wright is on assignment.

Game 2 of the NBA Finals is tonight, and the Miami Heat are holding a 1-0 lead over the Dallas Mavericks. Who do you think will be the eventual NBA Finals MVP? Cast your vote in today’s Starting Blocks poll.

Today’s guest, former Plain Dealer Cavs writer and current ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst, says the Heat will win the series and that LeBron James will win the MVP. He also has thoughts on Dirk Nowitzki’s injured finger and whether this is the best shooting year of James’ career. Brian also discusses Mike Brown’s comments about the Cavaliers while speaking at his introductory press conference as coach of the L.A. Lakers; and where he puts Shaquille O’Neal on his list of the NBA’s great centers, now that Shaq has announced his retirement.

SBTV will return Friday with Plain Dealer Browns reporter Tony Grossi answering questions from his Hey, Tony! feature.

Gotta run!.