<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SEATTLE - The process has been slow and tedious at times but, love it or hate it, the Cavaliers are morphing into the sort of lock-down defensive team coach Mike Brown swore he'd construct the day he was hired in June of 2005. Their defensive statistics have been improving since Brown took over, but they are just now really developing a style of play. It isn't always pretty and it isn't always totally effective, but take a step back and look at it with perspective and it is becoming signature. The Cavs are a very good defensive team and, of late, a dominant one in the second half. Having won nine of their past 11 games heading into tonight's game with the Seattle SuperSonics, the Cavs (23-13) have surged to the best record in the Eastern Conference and have done it with superior second halves. Based on a defensive system that tends to wear down opponents with lots of movement, the Cavs have outscored their last 11 opponents by a total of 63 points after halftime. On the road, where they had been a poor team for the season's first six weeks as they searched for consistency, the Cavs have won five of their last seven by outscoring opponents by a total of 59 points in the second halves. ``Defensively, we're taking care of our business and everyone is very focused on it,'' said LeBron James, who recently has started eschewing questions about his offensive game to talk about his defense. ``People keep asking me about my scoring average being down this year. Well, I'm having the bestdefensive year of my career.'' Brown likens the way his team plays to hammering a rock, grinding away as the opponent weakens and then breaks. It's a cliche, sure, but it is also a good way to describe how the Cavs got come-from-behind, defensive-based victories over the San Antonio Spurs at home and the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings and, most recently, the Los Angeles Clippers, on the road. In each of those games, the Cavs' defense triggered massive scoring swings in the second half. ``When you know your defense is your bread and butter and can make adjustments as the game goes along, it can be an advantage,'' Brown said. ``If you keep grinding in a close game, one team is going to crack.'' Whether the Cavs keep it up is yet to be seen. Long stretches of lackluster play on offense and periods of playing without focus have let more than a handful of winnable games slip away already. For the most part, though, the Cavs' defense shows up most nights and it is breeding a swagger that is showing up in the standings and in the attitude of the team. ``We're very confident right now,'' James said. ``We don't like teams to score on us and we've been taking teams out of their games in these second halves.''</div> Source
