Cavaliers coach John Lucas concedes that he historically has preferred an eight-man rotation. He looks down his bench, though, and he can't figure out whom to keep there.

Lucas has been using a 10-man rotation since center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and swingman Bryant Stith returned from injuries, and it's hard to complain about the results.

Stith has been back for four games and Ilgauskas for three, two of them impressive Cavs wins. With all due respect to Stith, the 7-foot-3 Ilgauskas, who is playing limited minutes as he recovers from yet another foot problem, is the main reason the Cavs suddenly have one of the NBA's better benches.

``It's not going to last forever,'' said Stith, who missed a month with an injured hip. ``As soon as he crosses those hurdles and he can play more than about 20 minutes, he's going to go back to the starting lineup. But right now, we'll take advantage of him on our team. He gives us another dimension on the offensive end and in blocking shots on defense.''

In all three games since Ilgauskas returned after missing the first 17 games, he has helped the Cavs' second unit make major strides. In last Tuesday's win over Central Division-leading Detroit, Ilgauskas keyed a strong second-half run. In Friday's loss at Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey, he helped the Cavs turn a six-point second-quarter deficit into a four-point lead. And in Saturday's 109-99 win over Denver, the Cavs turned a four-point second-quarter deficit into a 10-point lead with Ilgauskas on the floor.

It's not as if Ilgauskas is doing it completely by himself. Even before his return, the Cavs' reserves were doing a solid job.