LeBron James sat in his corner cubicle with a towel wrapped around his waist and a look of satisfaction on his face that had been missing for weeks.
His body, recovered from a two-week break, has refreshed the way he hoped. So has his team after two trades improving Cleveland at both ends of the floor.
After being thought of as dysfunctional and in disarray, the Cavaliers have won six in a row and are climbing in the standings. They'll try to keep rolling in Tuesday night's visit to the short-handed Detroit Pistons.
James wasn't ready to talk about the playoffs or NBA titles just yet after a 109-98 win over Oklahoma City on Sunday. But he senses the Cavs (25-20) are back on track.
"There's such a long road ahead of us, I'm not going to get too ahead of myself personally," said James, who scored 34 points -- including Cleveland's first eight in the final quarter. "We've played some great basketball as of late."
Not surprisingly, James is at the heart of the turnaround.
The four-time MVP recently missed eight games - following a 103-80 home loss to Detroit on Dec. 28 - to rest a strained back and left knee. The time away clearly revived the 30-year-old, who may want to consider a January retreat in upcoming seasons. He's running, jumping, cutting, scoring - doing everything at his own towering standards. He's physically stronger, mentally recharged.
James, recently named to his 11th straight All-Star team, has averaged 30.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals in his seven games since returning. As the wins have piled up, questions about James' relationship with first-year coach David Blatt - who never misses a chance to compliment his star player - have silenced. The two appear to be connecting better. The winning certainly helps.
So does a healthy James. The Cavs are 1-8 without him and 24-12 when he's on the floor, a contrast that perhaps underscores his value better than any statistic.
Along with James being back on his game, the recent acquisitions of center Timofey Mozgov and guards J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert have made a huge difference.
The 7-foot-1 Mozgov has given the team an inside defensive presence and offset the loss of Anderson Varejao, who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Mozgov, who played for Blatt on the Russian national team, has helped space the floor on offense, allowing forward Kevin Love to play more comfortably away from the basket.
Mozgov, too, has shown a nice shooting touch and a nasty streak when needed. He has brought the Cavs a needed toughness. Mozgov didn't much statistically Sunday - two points and six rebounds in 28 minutes - but he threw himself around down low and drew a technical foul after an exchange with Thunder enforcer Kendrick Perkins.
"We got his back," guard Kyrie Irving said. "It's great to have a big guy like that who's not going to take any nonsense."
Smith has also been a welcome addition, making a seamless transition since coming over with Shumpert from the New York Knicks. A prolific scorer, and prodigious outside shooter, Smith is relishing a chance to help a contender. He's been starting, but could have his role changed when Shumpert, who has played just two games after being out with a dislocated shoulder, gets better conditioned.
Smith said he won't mind coming off the bench.
"As long as we get that gold ball, it don't matter what I do," he said, referring to the Larry O'Brien Trophy. "I could sit out for all I care, as long as we win."
That gold ball is why James plays. He made four straight trips to the NBA finals with Miami and it's hard to imagine the league's ultimate showcase without him. The Cavs remain a work in progress, but because they're in the weaker Eastern Conference, they are title contenders when James is healthy.
For now, their confidence is growing. And with a soft schedule ahead - only three of their next 10 games are against teams with winning records - the Cavs may continue rolling.
One of those below-.500 opponents is Detroit (17-28), which will be without leading scorer Brandon Jennings for the rest of the season. Jennings, averaging 15.4 points and 6.6 assists, ruptured his left Achilles tendon in a 101-86 loss in Milwaukee on Saturday night.
D.J. Augustin had a career-high 35 points in his first start in his place Sunday, but the Pistons couldn't slow down Toronto in a 114-110 defeat.
"We just played no defense. We couldn't stop them at all. If you can't win scoring 110 then you don't deserve to," coach Stan Van Gundy said.
Van Gundy's team has allowed an average of 111.0 points in its last three games and dropped three of four after winning 11 of 13. The Pistons have won five of seven at home, but Cleveland won both its visits to Detroit last season.
James said he got hit in his left quad in the first half of last month's loss to the Pistons but didn't leave that game for good until 5:34 remaining. He missed 14 of 19 shots and committed seven turnovers while finishing with 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Jennings had a team-best 25 points and six assists as Detroit snapped a three-game skid in the series.
