Cavs, NBA's Hottest Team

By Johnny Russo

The Cleveland Cavaliers are rollin!

After seven straight wins we stand first in the Central Division and second in the Eastern Conference with an 8-2 record. NBA.com currently has us ranked #1 in the league in power rankings. Even Charles Barkley (who loves to slam the Cavs) has picked us to come out on top of the Eastern Conference at the end of the year. The rest of the league better watch out because we are climbing to the top!

Lebron James has won back-to-back Eastern Conference Player of the Week awards, showing that his commitment to the Olympics over the summer has not slowed him down a bit. Over 10 games, Lebron has averaged 29.8 points, 8 rebounds and 7.3 assists. His leadership skills have improved dramatically since last year and he is dedicated to leading this team to the franchises first championship ever. 

Our team remains undoubtedly one of the top defensive teams in the league. We have slipped up a few times this year by letting teams score points in bunches, but we locked down on defense down the stretch of games and came out with wins. 

Ben Wallace has looked rejuvenated on the defensive end and has been a key presence in the paint. He has pulled down double-digit numbers in rebounds in four of the ten games despite his sore back (which hasn't seemed to have been bothering him much) and his banged up right knee. 

Although our team has had a defensive identity in the past, it has been entertaining to see our offense running up the scoreboard. We have scored 100-points or more in six of our past seven games. With the improved depth on the team there are many different players that can light up the scoreboard. With so many outside shooters we have been able to spread the floor well and it has been harder for teams to come at Lebron with double-teams. Especially when we run our three guard lineup with James playing power forward. This gives us three shooters on the floor and James is now playing off the ball where he is getting the easiest buckets of his career.

Our team is quickly developing a swagger and our players are more confident than ever! Throughout every game this year, the bench has been up and cheering for the players on the court as if it were a playoff game. This is type of energy and motivation this team needs to be successful. Everybody seems to be understanding their roll and players are willing to make sacrifices for the better of the team. This kind of chemistry will take this team to the next level and make us one of the top championship contenders. 

Cleveland fans, buckle your seat belts and let's enjoy the ride!!!