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Terry's Talkin' about how Cleveland Cavaliers defense has improved with Timofey Mozgov and Kyrie Irving: Terry Pluto

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- You can become overwhelmed by numbers in the NBA as the stat geeks try to find a way to measure what a player means to his team.

If you look at the basics, Cavaliers center Timofey Mozgov is averaging 9.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and shooting .532 from the field since he joined the team. That was 12 games ago. The Cavs lost their first three with Mozgov, then won the next nine.

Last week, I wrote about how LeBron James loves playing with the 7-foot-1 Russian. The stats show it.

The NBA breaks down things like out-scoring the opposition per 100 possessions. OK, I'll get to the point: In this category, when James and Mozgov play together -- the Cavs are plus-24 points. That's the No. 5 most productive duo in the NBA.

The second best duo on the Cavs? It's Mozgov and Kyrie Irving: 20.1 points.

Here are the next two: Kevin Love and James (17.9) followed by J.R. Smith and Mozgov (16..

So Mozgov appears in three of the top four combinations.

As one NBA executive told me, "When Mozgov sets a screen, he sets a screen. That's why the Cavs love it when he comes out and puts a body on someone -- then rolls to the basket."

Perhaps there's some stat about screen-setting, but just watch him play. Mozgov finds a way to spring his teammates open for shots.

Or how about this? Before the recent nine-game winning streak, opponents were shooting .471 vs. the Cavs. That was the second-worst defense in the NBA.

In the last nine games, it's dropped to .424 -- second best in the NBA.

Mozgov is a huge part of this. That's also true for J.R. Smith who has brought some defense to shooting guard. You also can see how Iman Shumpert will help defending guards. He is still coming off a shoulder injury and playing limited minutes.

The Cavs were one of the NBA's worst defensive teams before the trades for Mozgov, Shumpert and Smith. Now, they are among the best. We'll see if it continues, but the change has been stunning.

In the meantime, they are scoring 110 points a game in the nine-game winning streak.

ABOUT KYRIE IRVING

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. San Antonio Spurs
Kyrie Irving received a lot of attention for his 55-point game, but it's defense that has really been outstanding.
Joshua Gunter / The Plain Dealer

Someone probably has missed his first seven shots in a game and ended up with 50 points, but I have no clue who did until it happened to Kyrie Irving. He threw in 55 points as the Cavs beat Portland (99-94) on Wednesday while James rested his sprained wrist.

Irving's defense has been superb lately. In the last nine games, opposing point guards have averaged only 12 points and shot 30 percent when defended by Irving.

That includes some stars. Consider this list and how they shot when defended by Irving:

Chris Paul, 4-of-15 shooting.
Derrick Rose, 5-of-14 shooting.
Russell Westbrook, 7-of-26 shooting.
Damian Lillard, 4-of-16 shooting.
In that same nine-game span, Irving is averaging 27 points and shooting 53 percent.

So he is outscoring his man by 15 points a game!

Irving has been working hard on his defense all season. He was perhaps the first player to strongly buy into new coach David Blatt. This is Irving's third coach and he's only been in the NBA for four seasons.

Someone who knows Irving told me that the 22-year-old Irving really didn't want to endure another coaching change. He was quick to gain a comfort level with Blatt and assistant coach Tyronn Lue.

The person also said that when Irving signed a five-year, $90 million contract extension on July 1, he was making a commitment to the Cavs. He wanted it to work. He hoped that LeBron James would sign with the team, but there were no guarantees. Blatt and Lue were part of the Cavs contingent to recruit Irving.

It was Owner Dan Gilbert and General Manager David Griffin who did most of the work selling Irving on a different future for the Cavs. Obviously, the maximum contract was a huge chip -- the Cavs could pay him $20 million or more than any other team.

But more than once, a player has signed a maximum contract -- and then still been an attitude problem because he didn't really want to stay with the team.

Irving has been upbeat from the moment he signed the deal, and then played for the USA National Team. It was in the summer where he began to concentrate on defense -- and take some pleasure from it.

And it has continued with the Cavs.

Irving has been willing to allow James to handle the ball, not an easy sacrifice for most point guards who have made an All-Star team. Irving has worked hard on moving without the ball to get open and catch passes from James for jump shots.

In other words, Irving often plays like a shooting guard -- a new role for him. It also was a role that Dion Waiters could never do. Waiters needed the have the ball -- a lot.

Irving has been named to his third All-Star team. He's averaging 22.6 points, shooting .467 (.413 on 3-pointers). Those are All-Star numbers. But his improved defense and willingness to learn a new role on offense has made this his best season of all.

Lagoa escreveu:Cavs atropelando o Heat...

Alias, Miami ta provando que era só LeBron mesmo né?

Spo continua perdido, Chalmers continua burro, Bosh continua aquele lixo soft...credo, só tenho saudades do Wade, Haslem e Birdman...o resto quero que se exploda mesmo.