Chris Tomasson of the Akron Beacon-Journal reports: Cavaliers point guard Andre Miller, whose streak of playing in 185
consecutive games ended when he missed last night's game at Dallas after having dislocated his right shoulder, just might be able to play tomorrow against Philadelphia at Gund Arena. ``It's not as bad as I thought,'' Cavs coach John Lucas said. ``Andre might want to play, but it's not his call. . . . We all want to protect his future. We'll just have to wait and see.'' Miller suffered the injury Tuesday when he banged into Houston forward Kenny Thomas on a rebound attempt. With the shoulder having been popped back into place, Cavs officials are now calling the injury a severe contusion. Miller will be evaluated again today. After Miller hit the floor, some of his teammates thought the worst. ``When you have a dislocated shoulder, you wonder if it's just a dislocation or if he tore some ligaments,'' Cavs center Chris Mihm said. ``If it was just a dislocation, you can put it back in place. Thankfully, there wasn't any ligament damage.'' About playing against the 76ers, Lucas said, ``(Miller will) work me good.''
NICE DIGS -- The Cavs made their first appearance in the American Airlines Center, which opened this season. The reviews were thumbs up. ``This is absolutely one of the finest facilities I've been through,'' Lucas said. At a cost of just more than $400 million, it's the most expensive NBA arena ever built. ``It's beautiful,'' Mihm said. ``They definitely spent a lot of money on this place. It's pretty impressive.'' The 19,200-seat arena has five concourses. There are 142 suites that circle the arena. The lavish Mavericks locker room includes televisions in each locker, hot and cold whirlpools, a sauna, a steam room and a full weight room. Plans for the arena actually were in place before free-spending Mark Cuban bought the team in January 2000, but Cuban is responsible for most of the amenities in the locker room.

CAP TO GO DOWN? -- Cuban predicts the salary cap next season will go down for the first time in NBA history. ``I think it will be lower because of the TV,'' said Cuban, noting that the NBA could sign a new television deal for next season for less money. ``There's a formula that's used (for basketball-related income). It's just my guess that it will be lower.'' The cap this season is $42.5 million. If it goes down, Cuban said it could affect some of the long-term plans teams have had in place. ``The only problem I see is that if teams have been strategically planning over the years, and then there's not a cap increase,'' he said. Some players who signed maximum contracts could end up making less money than they anticipated, but Cuban doesn't see that as a concern. ``The guys aren't greedy and stupid, they're realistic,'' Cuban said. ``If (Mavericks forward) Dirk Nowitzki is making $1 million less, he's not struggling, and he knows it.''