Complete team effort has Cavs riding high

AKRON, Ohio — While many in Cleveland expected the NFL Browns to garner the sports headlines this fall, the Cavaliers have stolen the spotlight.

And why not? They own a 14-3 record and are regarded as the best hope for bringing a championship to a title-starved region. The Cavs have developed into a complete team in less than one-quarter of a season.

Offensively, the Cavaliers rank fourth in the league, averaging more than 103 points per game and third in field-goal percentage, with more than 48 percent per game.

How proficient have they been offensively? Saturday night's 97-85 victory over Milwaukee represented the first time that the Cavs had not scored more than 100 points in a game since Nov. 22.

"We aren't just trying to find each other," guard Mo Williams said. "We are trying to help each other at all times."

Stats are up offensively, ever so slightly, across the board. Turnovers are down; rebounds are up; and the quicker pace that Williams and former Sonic Delonte West bring to the game cannot be overlooked as one of the reasons for the improvement.

Another: The bench has played an integral part in the offense. In the two games against New York and Oklahoma City, the reserves averaged more than 60 points. That provides tremendous comfort to a team that in the past had to wonder whether the Point Fairy would show up while LeBron James got a much-needed breather.

"We feel like we have a deep team and we have confidence in everybody that's on the team," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "So when they go out there, they seem to not miss a beat and they're exciting. There's really nothing I'm doing; it's just those guys bring it."

Bad days in Motown

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — The Detroit Pistons are starting to look like the Detroit Lions — they're a wreck on Sunday.

For the fourth Sunday in a row, the Pistons played like their hapless NFL counterparts, losing 96-85 to Portland.

"Other than asking the league not to schedule us for any more Sundays, there's nothing I can do about this," Pistons coach Michael Curry said.

While the Pistons are 10-2 during the rest of the week, they have been outscored by an average of 17 points while losing all four Sunday games.