One of coach Mike Brown's greatest disappointments last season was his defense's play over the first two months. There was a time, as the Cavs limped out to a 12-16 start, they ranked in the bottom five in the league in several key defensive areas.

That has vastly reversed this season. The Cavs entered Saturday night leading the NBA in points allowed at 89.7 and were second in the league in field-goal percentage defense at .418. Over the past two weeks, the Cavs have held four different teams to their season low in points, including the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.

"It really helped us that everyone was in training camp," Brown said. "But also these guys trust each other and if you are going to have any kind of system you need to have trust."

Sharpshooting Andy: Anderson Varejao is shooting nearly 60 percent from the field and better than 70 percent from the foul line so far. Both are well higher than his career averages, especially at the line where Varejao shot 59 percent last season.

Much of it can be attributed to an adjustment he made during the off-season when he tried to improve his technique by tucking his right elbow in on his release.

"I spent a lot of time working on it, it wasn't easy," Varejao said. "It has taken me awhile to get comfortable and I hope it continues."

Hack-a-jack: Rookie Darnell Jackson is doing a few things well early in his career and one of them is fouling. Jackson is hacking at quite a high rate, about one every 4.3 minutes on the floor. It seems like a possible problem, but so far the coaches don't have a problem with it.

"I am OK with him fouling as long as they're smart fouls, hustle fouls," Brown said. "If he starts making silly fouls then there will be a problem."

Dribbles: On Friday rookie Jawad Williams became the 63rd player with the last name Williams to play in the NBA. . . . Saturday LeBron James was called for delay of game because he was wearing three undershirts he had to take off when checking into the game. . . . James is now averaging a career-high 1.2 blocks per game. . . . In a move that could be called questionable, J.J. Hickson is now sporting a Mohawk haircut.

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