Sunday night’s game against the Mavericks was supposed to be a big night for Cleveland’s Žydrūnas Ilgauskas.

The big center from Lithuania, already the franchise’s all-time leading rebounder and shot blocker, was about to play his 724th game as a Cleveland Cavalier.

The Mavs game would be the game in which Ilgauskas would break the Cavs’ franchise record for games played, instead Ilgauskas would register his first DNP of the season courtesy of Head Coach Mike Brown.

(Discuss Cavs spoiling Ilgauskas’ history-making day)

Ilgauskas ties Danny Ferry’s record
The day before, Ilgauskas had played 15 minutes in a loss to Charlotte, tying the franchise record at 723 games, held by former teammate and current GM Danny Ferry.

“It doesn’t happen any more with free agency. Guys bounce around more. (The record) means a lot.” Ilgauskas said. “I was thinking about that the other day,” he said. “It means more to me than any of the other records I have.”

“It means more than the blocked shots or the rebounds.”

So coming into Sunday’s game, Ilgauskas was healthy and had played in every single game this season, each time no less than 13 minutes, so there was no reason to believe he wouldn’t get into the game.

And on the night that Ilgauskas was to break the record at the Quicken Loans Arean in Cleveland, Big Z didn’t remove his warmups at all; registering his first DNP-CD (Did Not Play – Coach’s Decision) of the season.

“I went small for matchup purposes,” Brown said after the Cavs defeated the Mavs 111-95. “We continued to stay small throughout the game. We had a nice flow to us.”

Ilgauskas hurt by DNP
Ilgauskas is obviously hurt by the move, and the 7-3 center turned down interview requests Saturday night and on Monday, which was the first time reporters remember Ilgauskas declining to talk.

From Cleveland.com: He was the first person to head to the locker room after Saturday’s game and the first person to leave the locker room, also two rarities. He reportedly was devastated by the decision, in part because he had a contingent of family and friends at the game to help him celebrate.

Questionable Move
I am sure Mike Brown has no ill-will towards Zydrunas and he was making the best moves to win the game, but the timing of the decision to keep Ilgauskas on the bench was questionable at best, and disrespectful at its worst.

The game was played at home, in Cleveland. Ilgauskas has spent his entire 12-year career with the Cavs. When Shaq was brought in this season, Big Z went to the bench without so much as a whisper.

Up until the start of the 2009-10 season when Shaq took the starting role, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas had played all of his 625 NBA games with the Cavs; he’s started 586 of those games, including 534 straight games pre-Shaq.

It’s one thing if Z had not played previously this season, but Ilgauskas has been part of the regular rotation. For Brown to not play him for the first time this season in the game in which he was to break the franchise record for games played? Odd timing to say the least.

Sure, he’ll get the record, but considering his team history and the aforementioned circumstances in play, Brown should have understood that and found time for Žydrūnas Ilgauskas.