Pregame: Warriors (27-17) at Cavs (13-32)

The Warriors have plenty of reasons to celebrate these days. They're fifth in the West in playoff seedings, two games behind Memphis for home-court advantage in the first round. (AP Photo/Jonathan Bachman)

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Time: 7 p.m.; Place: The Q; TV/Radio: FS Ohio/WTAM, WLEC, WAKR

Injury report: Cavs: Anderson Varejao (knee) out, Daniel Gibson (toe) doubtful, Luke Walton (foot) questionable; Kyrie Irving (ill) questionable; Warriors: Andrew Bogut (ankle) out, Stephen Curry (ankle) questionable.

Officials: Derrick Stafford, Karl Lane, Zach Zarba

Cavs probables

Notebook

* Kyrie Irving is questionable tonight because he is sick. Irving has battled a flu bug off and on for a couple of weeks and it apparently struck him again this morning. He missed the team's morning shootaround because coach Byron Scott told him to rest. He is listed as questionable tonight.

* If Irving can't play, Shaun Livingston is likely to start at point guard, although Scott said he hasn't made up his mind yet. But he's leaning toward Livingston.

* Dion Waiters' numbers are better off the bench in less time than in a starter's role, but Scott isn't messing with success. He's keeping the lineup the same, which includes Waiters at shooting guard, because the Cavs are 3-0 since C.J. Miles fell ill. 

* Waiters is averaging 17.1 points and shooting 44 percent in nine games off the bench, yet he's averaging 13.5 points and shooting 36 percent as a starter. He's averaging five more minutes per game as a starter, too. 

* Scott attributed the difference to Waiters' role. When he comes off the bench, Scott puts the ball in his hands, runs pick-and-rolls for him and urges him to be aggressive. When he's a starter, Scott is telling Irving those things and basically telling Waiters he'll mix him in where he can. "We’re still going to run plays for (Waiters)," Scott said, "but trying to create some things for him is a little bit different.”

* A victory tonight will make the Cavs 7-7 in the month of January, Scott's first non-losing month with the Cavs. After so many years of winning as a player and success as a coach, Scott said he doesn't forget what winning feels like, but he appreciates it a little more these days. "When you're winning and winning and winning, sometimes you take it for granted," Scott said. "So sometimes when you're knocked off that high horse every now and then and you have to start winning the way we're winning now, it kind of brings everything back to reality that it's not that easy. We won 14 or 15 straight and I think at times we kind of took it for granted back in the '80s. But you never forget how good it feels to win and how much better it makes everybody else feel. THe trick is you have to keep trying toget that feeling. So don't take it for granted. Don't live on the last game. Hey, let's win another one. Let's see if we can keep this feeling going."

* Scott and Warriors coach Mark Jackson were teammates at Indiana and now are squaring off as coaching counterparts. Scott said he never pictured Jackson as a future coach and the two never discussed the idea of someday doing it. "We were having too much fun playing against each other," Scott said. "I played with a fun team in Indiana when Mark Jackson was on board, with Reggie Miller and some of the other guys. It was just a fun bunch of guys that had a will to win. But we had a lot of fun doing it and just enjoyed each other. That's why I always go back to that camaraderie and how important that is to be successful in this league. We had great chemistry and camaraderie on that team, and I think that's one of the reasons why we were so good."

* Tristan Thompson, noted 3-point specialist, tied coach Byron Scott in a post-shootaround contest this morning. Each man went 3 of 5. The rematch will be tomorrow after practice. Thompson was shooting right-handed and surprised most everyone by making 3 of 5. Scott missed his first attempt and his fifth went halfway down before rattling out. I joked with Scott afterwards that now Thompson will be shooting 3-pointers tonight. "No he ain't," Scott said.

* The Warriors won't have Andrew Bogut tonight and are likely to be without point guard and leading scorer Stephen Curry. Curry sprained his right ankle (an ankle that has endured two surgical procedures) in Monday's loss at Toronto. Bogut returned Monday after missing three months with soreness in his left ankle, but is held out because it's the second of a back-to-back. 

* This is the final stop on a four-game trip for the Warriors. They lost both nights on a back-to-back at Chicago and Milwaukee, but beat the Raptors on Tuesday. This is their fourth game in five nights. 

* The Warriors are fifth in the West, just two games behind Memphis for home-court advantage in the first round. A franchise historcally known for its offensive firepower and lack of defense is now defending better under Jackson. Opponents are shooting .435 against the Warriors, the fifth-best percentage in the league. The Cavs are still last in the league in opponents field-goal percentage at .471.