Written by Jerry Roche

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When LeBron James sat out Saturday night's 92-85 loss in Milwaukee, Cavalier fans finally got to see what the world would be like without their MVP. Picture a late October day with storm clouds rolling in from the west, a wicked breeze coming off Lake Erie, and a chilling downpour from the heavens. In other words, not something you'd want to live through every day -- not even in Cleveland.

Here’s what we learned when head coach Mike Brown gave LeBron a well-deserved rest prior to the NBA’s regular-season “home stretch.”

1) Jawad Williams is not a starting NBA forward -- at least, not yet. He seemed fairly comfortable on the court with the rest of the starting unit, but he really didn't do much at all. Six points on 3-of-5 shooting, just three (defensive) rebounds, no assists and no steals. Not to mention his minus-29 in the plus-minus category. No, you can't expect a raw rookie to take LeBron's place, but a playoff team needs more production from the "3" than Jawad offers.

2) Delonte West is the second-most aggressive member of the team. Nobody else on the roster even comes close. West was superb running the point, scoring 27 points in 31 minutes on 11-of-18 shooting. Yes, he had six turnovers, but he also had six assists and was handling the ball most of the time.

3) After his shoulder injury, Mo Williams hasn’t got his confidence back yet. If ever there was a game in which the slumping Williams could assert himself, this was the one. Oh, he tried. But he was only 3 of 17 from the field -- 1 of 7 from three-point land -- and that’s not what you want out of Mo. In interviews with the media, Mo talks a good, confident game, but it’s not yet showing up on the court. “I felt like guys stepped up to the plate with LeBron being out, and I didn't," said Mo. “If I was that third piece, we could have won this game.” Here’s hoping that he has a couple confidence-builders between now and the playoffs, because the Cavs will suffer if Mo’s not hitting his jumpers.

4) To be effective, J.J. Hickson and Andy Varejao need LeBron in the lineup. (Of course, we’ve known this all along.) When the opposing team pays extra attention to LeBron, Hickson and Varejao can sneak around and await their teammate's pin-point passes. Hickson -- coming off a recent scoring run thanks to passes from LBJ -- was a sorrowful 0 of 2 from the field Saturday night. Granted, he was giving up three inches or more to Andrew Bogut, but one point in 20 minutes shows us that he still cannot create his own shot. Same thing for Andy -- but to a lesser extent, thanks to a few more years’ experience playing in the NBA.

5) Antawn Jamison is everything the Cavs wanted and need in a forward. He’s an experienced, consistent, consummate professional. When the team had to have an extra scoring punch Saturday night, Jamison threw in 30 points, matching West's 11 of 18 from the field. He also registered a team-leading 11 rebounds and a team-leading five steals. Thank you very much, Danny Ferry.

6) With or without LeBron (and Shaquille O’Neal), Mike Brown’s defensive philosophy and schemes are extremely effective. The Cavs held the Bucks to just 40.5 percent from the floor. They stole the ball nine times and blocked six shots.

7) With or without LeBron and/or Shaq, this team needs to spend some quality time practicing free throws. If they shoot 60 percent during the playoffs, their exit will be quick.

8) Finally, without LBJ performing his regular derring-do, this is an average team, at best. Without LBJ, we’d be hearing this post-game refrain from Mike Brown on a regular basis: “I give my guys credit for being short-handed and going out there and fighting and at least giving us an opportunity down the stretch.”

Though the prospect of LeBron parting ways with the Cavaliers this summer via free agency grows smaller with each passing day, if he indeed does choose the bright lights of Broadway over the warmth of his sold-out hometown crowds, next winter will be long, cold, wet, dark and dreary on the North Coast of Lake Erie.