One way to judge whether a team belongs in the elite category is to look at its road record.
There were nine teams in the league with a .500 or better record away from home at the start of the day Thursday. The Cavaliers were one of them. They possess an 18-11 road mark (.621), fifth best in the NBA. Only the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston, Orlando and San Antonio have better road records.
The Cavs (44-12) are one game shy of their 45 wins from last year with 26 to play. They are also within striking distance of the franchise record for road wins.
"It's always good to put yourself in the record books," Cavs forward LeBron James said. "Everybody on the team -- the organization, the players and coaching staff -- should feel good about setting records and making history. We work hard at it."
Only twice in the previous 38 years the team has been in existence have the Cavs finished above .500 on the road -- 22-19 in 1991-92 and 21-20 in 1995-96. The Cavs have 13 road games remaining and could be on their way to smashing the team record.
ROCKETS 93, CAVALIERS 74: The Cavaliers' heart and soul on defense will be sidelined for 4-to-6 weeks.
Valuable forward/center Ben Wallace suffered a non-displaced fracture of his right fibula on Thursday in the Cavs' loss to the Rockets at the Toyota Center.
The 34-year-old Wallace said he got kicked accidentally by Rockets center Yao Ming in the second quarter and continued to play. X-rays taken in the third quarter uncovered the costly break.
In the best-case scenario, the 34-year-old Wallace could be back for the playoffs. He'll be replaced in the starting lineup by Anderson Varejao. Rookie J.J. Hickson will be forced to play meaningful minutes.
"I'll definitely be back for the playoffs," Wallace said. "Hopefully, I'll be back before then. It's tough just coming back for the playoffs. I don't know if realistically I'd be able to help the team."
Wallace will likely return to Cleveland and get a cast on his right leg.
Another big man will need to be added in the near future.
They are holding out hope that Oklahoma City forward/center Joe Smith will be bought out of his contract by Sunday. They still have almost $5 million left from the mid-level exception.
Two other free-agent big men looking for work are Scot Pollard and Aaron Williams. However, neither one of them might be what the doctor ordered.
Wallace was one of a trio of big men who attempted to guard Yao Ming on Thursday. None of them were able to even slow him down. Yao had a game-high 28 points and eight rebounds. He converted 13-of-15 shots from the field.
"He's un-guardable," LeBron James said.
