The Cavaliers opened training camp calling Ilgauskas their backup center, behind Shaquille O'Neal, and all parties hope the season will end with him being called a champion.

But it's what he's called when he walks in the door every night that counts: Daddy.

Over the summer, Ilgauskas and his wife Jennifer adopted two brothers from an orphanage in Ilgauskas' hometown of Kaunas, Lithuania. Deividas, 5, and Povilas, 4, are little blond dynamos, all arms and legs protruding from their khaki shorts and polo shirts. The shortened, plastic toy Basketball hoop that sits in the driveway of their home in Avon Lake is proof that things have changed in a big way.

"It has been a blast," a beaming Ilgauskas said after practice Tuesday.

Two years ago, the couple suffered through the miscarriage of twins. Now they have two more children to love, and it has changed their lives.

"It has been an adjustment because we're a big family now. We're like any other family, we have our ups and downs. But all in all it has been a great experience."

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cavaliers center, on he and his wife adopting two brothers from Lithuania over the summer.

"I'm in a happy place in my life right now," Ilgauskas said. "I'm really satisfied. And I'm contented as a person and as a player. The kids completed our family. We already had great lives, but now it is even better. It is challenging but there are rewards along the way. It is hard because overnight you become a father. I'm learning as I go but I think everyone goes through that."

The hardest part - other than the kids' nonstop motors and endless stream of questions - is they don't speak much English yet, although that likely will change rapidly now that they are in school. But whereas Ilgauskas can tell them in Lithuanian, "We don't stand on the glass table because it might break and cut you." Jennifer is limited to saying, "No."

The dog, an affable - and gigantic - Newfoundland named Beckham, also has had to stand up for himself against his two very active new owners.

"They have their battles," Ilgauskas said with a smile. "The dog established where he stands and now everyone is good."

The boys are adjusting beautifully to their new lives, even if they're struggling a bit with the geography. After pulling out of the Ilgauskas' driveway one day, they wanted to know if they were still in America.

"It's a big country," Ilgauskas assured them.

Last week, they visited the Cavs practice facility so they could see where Daddy works. But Ilgauskas, the Cavs' all-time leading rebounder, will have a different job this season, and he admitted coming off the bench behind O'Neal will be an adjustment after starting for all of his 11 seasons.

"I'm going to have to find the right mind-set, how to prepare for games and everything else," said Ilgauskas, noting that the reduced workload may help him as the season progresses. "It is something I have to learn on the fly because I've been starting for so long. I'm 34 and I want to win a championship, so whatever helps me with that I'm all for it."

He is, in fact, a fan of O'Neal's.

"I've always been high on Shaq and he's the best center I ever played against," Ilgauskas said. "So if anyone is going to replace me in the starting lineup, then I don't mind it being him at all. [But] somebody else is going to have to guard him in practice or I won't last until Christmas."

Those changes on the court are nothing compared to the ones he's making off the court. He finds he can't wait to get home, even though he's usually exhausted by the end of the day - and again the next morning.

"I'm not sleeping as much," Ilgauskas admitted. "It has been challenging at times. It has been an adjustment because we're a big family now. We're like any other family, we have our ups and downs.

"But all in all it has been a great experience."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: mschmitt@plaind.com, 216-999-4668