season where they eventually lost to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. To conclude the season, Varejão was also named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. Varejão became the Cavaliers' starting center. He averaged 9.1 points per game and 9.7 rebounds in 32 minutes per game, but after playing in all 31 games was forced to miss the rest of the season because of a torn tendon in his right ankle suffered on January 6. Once again, Varejão was Cleveland's starting center, but this time he suffered a broken right wrist on February 10, causing him to miss the rest of the season. In 25 games played, Varejao averaged 10.8 points and 11.5 rebounds in 31 minutes per game. He set his then career high with 20 rebounds on January 31, 2012; he also added 20 points in the game. In the 2012–13 Cavaliers season opener, a home victory over the Washington Wizards on October 30, 2012, Varejão nearly acquired a triple-double, tallying nine points, a career high nine assists, and a then-career high 23 rebounds. On January 21, 2013, it was announced that Varejão would miss the remainder of the season after being hospitalized for a blood clot in his lung. Over 25 games, he per-game averages were 14.1 points, 14.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.5 steals; all career highs. 2013–16: Final years in Cleveland In 2013–14, Varejão started just 29 games for the Cavaliers as the team had Andrew Bynum in the first half of the season and Spencer Hawes in the second. After starting early on, Varejão lost his spot in mid-November to Bynum before reclaiming it in late December after Bynum was suspended indefinitely by the team. Bynum was traded in January and the Cavaliers acquired Hawes in February. It was around this time that Varejão was sidelined for a month with back soreness, and upon his return in March, he came off the bench for the rest of the season. Varejão played in 65 games, finishing the season averaging 8.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 steals in 28 minutes per game. On October 31, 2014, Varejão signed a three-year, $30 million contract extension with the Cavaliers. He had been having a good offensive season as LeBron James' favorite pick-and-roll partner, shooting 55 percent from the field and averaging 10 points and 6.6 rebounds. On December 23, 2014, against the Minnesota Timberwolves,