CLEVELAND -- Random dribbles from the Cavaliers' 94-91 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Friday:
1. It was a win, and the Cavs needed it, and they needed to do it like they did -- with defense.
2. In the event you forgot, the Cavs were embarrassed by the Atlanta Hawks earlier in the week. They didn't feel much like playing defense and they got to reap the nasty rewards. On Friday, they couldn't seem to get much going on offense (other than Mike Miller). But they buckled down and decided to do the little things.
3. More specifically, the Cavs again were lousy on D in the first quarter. It looked like a carryover from the Hawks game. Then they got it right.
3. Cavs coach David Blatt explained it this way: "The other night, I was pretty upset with our defensive effort. I thought (Friday) we really laid it out there for three quarters. We made some big stops. Sometimes that's what you gotta do -- you gotta defend your heart out. I salute my guys. I thought they responded well to what was not a good defensive performance (vs. the Hawks)."
4. LeBron James scored 22 points -- but was just 7-of-18 from the floor. Kevin Love clanked his way to 1-of-10 shooting for a season-low six points. And Kyrie Irving (16 points) was just 6-of-18 shooting. So the Big Three struggled mightily to get into any sort of rhythm.
5. Luckily for them, Mike Miller arrived after missing seven games with a concussion, and the guy lit the place on fire. He took eight 3-pointers, made seven, and finished with 21 points.
6. Where would the Cavs have been without Miller? "I don't even want to think about," Blatt said, smiling. "He came out blazing, came out ready, and he certainly picked it up us for tonight."
7. Miller got the start in place of Shawn Marion, as Blatt wanted Marion's energy off the bench. Both Miller (34 years old) and Marion (36) have played in this league a long time. Both are willing to play any role, from starter to reserve, to someone who shoots to someone who defends and everything in between. Marion finished 4-of-6 from the floor and scored eight points in perhaps his best game as a Cavalier.
8. But back to the Big Three. While each had a hard time finding the basket, each did something worth noting. LeBron hit some of the game's biggest shots (no surprise there) by staying in attack mode, particularly in the fourth quarter. Love pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds. Irving stayed after it defensively. Even at his worst, Kyrie is having a career year when it comes to being an all-around player and teammate.
9. Interestingly, Miller played his first game in two weeks and was on the floor for 33 minutes. "When the fire is hot," Blatt said.
10. Miller had no complaints, either. "One of the reasons I came here was because you're going to get a lot of good shots," he said. And it certainly helps if you can knock them down, as Miller did Friday.
11. If there was an intriguing aside, it's that Dion Waiters did not play in the second half. Miller's gain was Waiters' loss, it appears.
12. Another issue seemingly on everyone's mind is the matter of LeBron's minutes. He played 40 on Friday. By the end the month, he will have surpassed Boston Celtics great Larry Bird in career minutes. And Bird averaged a whopping 40.6 minutes per game during the 1986-87 season.
13. That said, neither Blatt nor LeBron seem all that concerned. It's more of a media and fan sort of thing.
14. Blatt on LeBron's minutes: "We certainly take into consideration how he's feeling, and how he's responding during the course of the game. Last game we rested him a good bit because of what happened (blowout loss). If he feels too tired, he's gonna let us know."
15. LeBron on LeBron's minutes: "I don't think it about when I'm out there. I just try to do my job."
16. Either way, the Cavs have what Miller described as "a great test" coming up next. That would be none other than the Memphis Grizzlies. I don't know that the Grizzlies are the best team in the league, but they are certainly up there. With Zach Randolph, Mike Conley and Marc Gasol, their core has been together a while and has won. They defend and play smart.
17. On top of that, the Grizzlies lost at home to the Chicago Bulls on Friday. So they'll be extra mad. They come to Cleveland on Sunday (4:30 p.m. tipoff).
18. Read: The Cavs (15-10) are going to get a good gauge of where they stand in this early season.
19. As for the Nets (10-15), things just seem to be getting worse. Kevin Garnett looks incredibly old, Deron Williams left the game with a strained calf, and Joe Johnson (26 points) is like just about everyone else on the team -- pretty hot and cold. This is a team that never lived up to the hype. "We can't get down on ourselves," Johnson insisted after the loss. "Obviously, we understand we're still in the hunt for something, so we'll try to keep working and hopefully things will come together."
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