The Cavs have won 14 of their last 15 and are in position for the No. 2 seed: Here's how

CLEVELAND — Meet the Cleveland Cavaliers, the hottest team in the NBA.

Meet the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team that on Dec. 15 was seemingly about to be buried under a wave of injuries and a rotation thrown into chaos.

Meet the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team that Monday night moved into sole possession of the No. 2 seed in the East.

Meet the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team that would like to reintroduce itself, as it has a mountain of momentum on its side.

The Cavs are rolling. They've won six games in a row, including Monday night's beatdown of the Sacramento Kings. They've won 14 of their last 15 games. They have the top-ranked defense since Dec. 1. And offensively, during this 15-game stretch they're scoring a hair under 120 points a game (119.8).

They aren't just squeaking by, either. In the Cavs' 14 wins since Dec. 3, they've won by an average of 18.2 points. It's a stretch that includes two key wins over the Milwaukee Bucks, with the only blemish over the last 15 games being a close loss to those same Bucks.

This run has been enough that, after Monday night's win, Donovan Mitchell noticed how many more reporters were there covering the game in the locker room. The room didn't quite look like that before the 15-game run.

"It's crazy, I mean, no disrespect to a lot of you, but a lot of y'all weren't here when we were down and out," Mitchell said. "So that's always a good sign when the locker room is packed."

Cavaliers take over No. 2 seed in East, passing Milwaukee Bucks

This run has changed the perception of where the Cavs stand in the East. The Cavs pulled ahead of the Bucks for the No. 2 seed, behind the Boston Celtics. And the Philadelphia 76ers might have lost reigning MVP Joel Embiid for the season due to a needed knee procedure.

Although the Celtics remain the favorites, and the Bucks are likely the No. 2 choice due to their playoff experience, those two, the Cavs and the New York Knicks have separated themselves from the rest of the contenders in the East, at least as long as Embiid is out.

But, make no mistake, while the Cavs are rolling right now and seemingly steamrolling any team on their schedule with ease, they know what time of year it is — and they know what section of the calendar means the most. That time won't arrive for a couple months. Success in the playoffs is the only remedy for the bad taste still in their mouths from a first-round playoff loss to the Knicks last year.

"It's good, but it's February," Mitchell said. "At the end of the day, we're just trying to continue to play the way we've been playing.

"It's gonna be talked [about], you know, 2 seed this and that, but at the end of the day it matters where we are come April and how we finish."

Cavaliers embrace 'selfless' style of play en route to winning 14 of 15 games

It was through the injuries to Darius Garland (jaw surgery) and Evan Mobley (knee surgery) the Cavs unlocked the key to their style of play. It involved more movement, a lot more 3s, return to their defensive focus and the coaching staff trusting that every player on the floor will make the right "basketball play."

It was a dedication to selfless basketball. The Cavs' collective backs were against the wall, so they leaned into a style suited for the roster (or what was left of it). It worked. And with a now healthy starting lineup, it's still working.

"It's fun. It's great basketball," said Max Strus, who has arguably been one of the most important offseason additions in the entire NBA this season. "Any night can be anybody else's night. When you celebrate that and you cherish that and have a good group of guys that understands that, it's fun to play basketball."

It took the loss of 40 percent of the starting lineup for the Cavs to discover themselves. When asked if this style should be the Cavs' identity moving forward, Strus said, "Should be, yeah."

"It's showing that it's worked, so why not?" he said. "Why would we not keep doing it?"

It's a testament to the job coach J.B. Bickerstaff has done during this stretch. Keeping the Cavs afloat without Garland and Mobley created one of the most difficult tests he's faced as Cavs coach. He has passed that test with flying colors. The Cavs didn't just survive, they surged forward in the standings and unearthed the blueprint for how they can best operate with their collective skillset.

To Bickerstaff, the team buying in started with one concept.

"Sacrifice," he said. "Putting the team above yourself. And every single one of those guys in the locker room has put the team above themselves.

"[Being selfless], that's what we believe works. So that's been the message from day one, is trying to make sure the guys are buying into something greater than themselves. And that's something we live by every single day. … The players will never do something that the coaches aren't willing to do."

Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter and Threads at @ByRyanLewis.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Cavaliers' winning streak gives them second seed in East