<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">ATLANTA - Mike Brown has endured plenty of ups and downs as Cavaliers coach during his rookie season, which will hit its mid-point this weekend. The returns on his job performance have been mixed, depending on what sort of streak the team is on. There's been an eight-game win streak, a six-game win streak and a six-game losing streak. But his effort to turn the Cavs into a defense-first team have paid off thus far. Over their last five games, the Cavs are holding opponents to just 87 points and 42 percent shooting, which ranks them at the top of the NBA during that stretch. Of course, those numbers were skewed by holding the Indiana Pacers to 33 percent shooting and scoring just 66 points Tuesday night. Looking deeper, the stats are more telling. Over the first 20 games of the season, the Cavs were giving up 99 points per game and allowing opponents to shoot 47 percent overall and 41 percent from 3-point range. That ranked them last in the NBA against the 3-pointer and 26th overall in field-goal defense. Over the next quarter of the season -- 19 games heading into Wednesday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks -- the Cavs were only giving up 92 points per game, allowing 44 percent shooting and just 33 percent on 3s. ``Those numbers show growth on the most important end of the floor, which is defensively,'' Brown said. ``Make no mistake we haven't arrived, but if you want to get there you have to be good on the defensive end.'' Brown admits he and his team still have a lot of work to do on offense and he's struggled to be consistent with his rotations, but the numbers show he is doing the job owner Dan Gilbert hired him to do, which is instill defense. ``I've got to learn to be more patient,'' Brown said. ``For a first-year coach, it has been a learning process; it's been a difficult process, but it's one I've enjoyed.''</div> Source
