After a slow 5-7 start to the season, the Cleveland Cavaliers have won eight straight games. They are averaging 106 points per game during that span and seem to have finally learned how to play as a team. A nice, no-look pass from Kevin Love to LeBron James at the top of the key gave the Cavs a win in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter in their last game against the Toronto Raptors. James totaled 35 points in the game, while Love added 17. At 13-7, the Cavaliers sit in first place in the Central Division and have moved into the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference.

Not only are the three All-Stars clicking, but it appears as though Dion Waiters has finally become accustomed to playing alongside them. After a slow start to the season had many second-guessing his value, Waiters is starting to break out. He is coming off a great shooting performance against the Raptors, a game in which he shot 70 percent from the field and 60 percent from three-point range, on his way to scoring 18 points. That followed a 26-point performance against the Brooklyn Nets in which Waiters played 30 minutes on the floor.

Love, James, and Kyrie Irving are slowly, but surely, finding their respective niches. Love leads the team in rebounding, averaging a double-double. Of the three, Irving is the one whose performance is slacking. While he is second on the team averaging 20.8 points per game, he is also second on the team in assists, which is not something you would expect from the reigning All-Star Game MVP. His chemistry with James in last year's midseason street ball classic had eyes glued to the future teammates. However, Irving's ball distribution has not reached expectations since teaming up with the NBA's best player. He is averaging just 5.1 assists per game, ranking him 26th in the league, while James is averaging 7.7 assists per game, which ties Stephen Curry for fifth in the NBA. If Irving can facilitate the offense and lighten the load for James, the Cavaliers will be a dangerous threat that could finally move to the top of the Eastern Conference.

LeBron James has carried the Cavaliers to several wins throughout the season, but the rest of the team is finally starting to play well alongside him. One of those players playing exceptionally well is Anderson Varejao. While Varejao was the beneficiary of playing with James in his early years, he continues to benefit alongside the superstar. The ten-year veteran has the fifth-best shooting percentage in the NBA, making nearly 60 percent of his shots. The Cavaliers, as a whole, are a good shooting team, breaking the top ten with a field goal percentage of 46.

So while it seems as though the Cavaliers are back on track and have finally silenced critics, they still have ground to make up. Courtesy of a DeMar DeRozan injury, they are just two games back of the first-place Raptors. But, in order to move to the top and distance themselves from the pack, the Cavaliers will need more quality minutes from their bench players. While Waiters has emerged, Mike Miller has played in 13 games this season and has missed the last three with a concussion. His season high point total for a single game is 6. Tristan Thompson has played well at times, but head coach David Blatt needs a more solidified bench that can compete against the second strings of other contenders in the league. For now, the Cavaliers are rolling, but there is still plenty of room for improvement until they can be deemed an Eastern Conference powerhouse.