It even carried over into the regular season, the club turned it over 22 times in the season opener in Boston and then 18 in the third game in New Orleans, frustrating coach Mike Brown.

Over the past four weeks, though, the club has remarkably cleaned up its ball-handling and cut down on unforced errors. Suddenly, turnovers have gone from a trouble spot to a point of pride.

The Cavs rank fifth in the NBA in fewest turnovers, committing just 13 a game.

"Early on we were not valuing the ball," Brown said. "That is one of the things we have been stressing, especially on the road. If you can keep control of the ball, it helps you control the tempo of the game."

Most of it can be attributed to the team's three primary ball-handlers performing at a high level. LeBron James is averaging the fewest turnovers per game in his career, Mo Williams his fewest in three seasons and Delonte West his fewest since his rookie year in 2004-05.

Rookies to get chances: Brown said he is making a commitment to give rookie forwards J.J. Hickson and Darnell Jackson as much time as he can afford.

Hickson had been getting sporadic playing time and Jackson, who missed five weeks with a fractured wrist, saw his first playing time Tuesday in New York.

To that end, Brown decided this week to deactivate veteran Lorenzen Wright in favor of Jackson. The coach is also attempting to make a commitment to give Hickson regular time in the rotation, especially to give James a rest. At times this season, Brown has played James extended minutes at power forward instead of going to Hickson.

"I've got to take a look at them," Brown said. "It is possible they could both help us later on in the season. Lorenzen Wright is a class act, he's a first-rate pro. I know he'll keep himself in shape and keep himself ready."

Z the PG? Zydrunas Ilgauskas is having a prolific start to the season in the assist category. It may not seem like it - he's averaging just 1.8 per game - but that is the highest rate of his career. The reason is the Cavs have new sets that put Ilgauskas in the high post. He's been able to find players on backdoor passes including several alley-oops to James. "Well, I did used to be a point guard," Ilgauskas said. "Back when all the kids were the same height."

Dribbles: Wally Szczerbiak jammed his left thumb against the Knicks on Tuesday, but said it responded to treatment and wouldn't cause him to miss any time. . . . Against the Knicks the Cavs had four players - Hickson, Szczerbiak, Daniel Gibson and Anderson Varejao - score 10 points or more off the bench. It was the first time the Cavs had accomplished that since April 10, 2001. . . . The Cavs average 5.7 blocks per game, ranking them seventh in the league.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: bwindhorst@plaind.com, 216-999-5166