Cavs on fire

Last spring's collapse for the Cavaliers still has me a bit guarded about getting totally swept up in their 9-2 start. It's only November, after all.
But there is no denying this is a vastly different team than the one that ended last season. It's not just the additions of Larry Hughes, Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones to the core of LeBron James annd Zydrunas Ilgauskas. It's the way coach Mike Brown is making it all come together.
To qualify as a better strategic coach than Paul Silas, Brown merely needed a clue as to how to use his players beyond LeBron. But Brown has more than a clue.
Brown has spent the first month of the season showing that the presence of Gregg Popovich and Rick Carlisle on his resume is more than window dressing.
Crisp rotations and aggressive play on defense has been the norm. Brown has also found a way to harness the wealth of offensive talent on the roster so that players are using their talent to make each other better.
Pass first, dribble second, shoot third seems to be Brown's offensive mantra. But he doesn't place paint-by-number restrictions on his players, particularly the multi-talented one-two punch of LeBron and Hughes.
If either player senses a mismatch or thinks he can penetrate, Brown lets them have at it. It worked like a charm Saturday in Philadelphia, when the pair rallied Cleveland from a 16-point deficit in the third quarter to a 123-120 win. Hughes finised with 37 points, LeBron with 36.
This is the system, the template for success I was soapboxing about last spring.
Having some cornerstones to hang your hat on gives a team multiple ways to win games. That wasn't the case last year, where the fortunes of the whole team rested almost totally on the play of LeBron and Z.
In Sautrday's win, and last night's 115-93 win over the Celtics, the Cavs were challenged. Last night, Boston used the shooting of Paul Pierce and Ricky Davis to stay hot on Cleveland's tail for most of the night. Brown's defensive schemes weren't stopping Boston's scorching duo.
In years past, the Cavs probably would have wilted and lost the game. This year, however, LeBron can pick and choose when he wants and needs to dominate, and opposing defenses can't focus solely on him.
LeBron beat back the Celtics by scoring the last 10 Cleveland points of the third quarter. Boston, within 10 poins for most of the night, were the ones that eventually wilted, and Cleveland notched its sixth straight blowout win at home.
Cleveland is winning games by an average of 20 points at home. Call it "Q-Juice."
We knew this team was going to be different even before the season started. Now, we are seeing just how different.
In the first two years of LeBron, the Cavs had the potential of being kind of good. Now, they have to potential to be really good.