CLEVELAND, Ohio -- LeBron James now shoots with teammates about an hour before the game and he has apparently stopped doing the chalk toss.

Both items -- the pregame shooting and non-chalk tossing -- are part of a slew of changes James made last week. They worked.

Not only did the Cavaliers win all three games, but James averaged 25.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 8.7 assists, and 2.3 steals.

The week before, it was 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists in four losses.

LeBron James vs. Washington, Nov. 26

Back story

James didn't have an infinitely better week last week simply because of the two minor changes mentioned above.

Large-scale changes to how James was going to carry himself on the floor were coming even before he declared "I stink" on Monday.

Cleveland lost in Washington by 13 points on Nov. 21, and the next day James told reporters there were things he could do differently on the court, and he planned on implementing those changes immediately.

The problem for James was the Cavaliers had another game that night against Toronto. Neither Cleveland nor James were quite ready to snap out of their funk yet, and the Cavaliers were pounded by 17 points at home for their fourth straight loss.

But when James took to berating himself Monday, he and the Cavaliers were ready for changes.

So, what were they?

Primarily, James needed to pay as much attention to his own defense as he was demanding his teammates pay to theirs.

He knew he needed to maintain his own composure when the Cavaliers faced tough times to fulfill his role as leader.

He felt he had to set the tone for games by getting out to a fast start offensively, in essence shocking the rest of the Cavaliers into gear by supplying the electricity.

And?

Consider James' first quarters last week:

vs. Orlando -- 16 pts, 1 rb, 4 ast, 4-8 FG, 7-7 FT (Cavs led, 26-16)

vs. Washington -- 12 pts, 2 rbs, 5 ast, 2-5 FG, 7-8 FT (Cavs led, 31-18)

vs. Indiana -- 6 pts, 1 rb, 3 ast, 3-6 FG, 0-0 FT (Cavs led, 29-21)

All three games were so lopsided by the end that James sat out all or most of the fourth quarter in each.

If the season ended today, James would tie a career low with an average of 1.3 steals per game. But he averaged a full steal more than that last week, now that he's following his man to the perimeter and playing passing lanes once again.

What's the point?

Playing better defense and being more aggressive early were two fixes James made from a purely basketball sense.

The new pregame shooting routine and ditching the chalk toss are in a bit more of a gray area.

Most players shoot before games, usually somewhere between 90 and 50 minutes prior to game time. James hadn't done it once all season until Monday night, choosing instead to stretch and go through rigorous calisthenics and body maintenance with trainer Mike Mancias, who's followed him from Cleveland, to Miami, and back again.

Perhaps shooting before games was a way to help James begin games with a better feel for his shot.

Doing away with the chalk toss - in which he tosses talcum powder into the air from the scorer's table before each game -- has very little to do with playing better.

So much about the Cavaliers revolves around James. He garners the most attention from the press, gets the loudest cheers from the fans, is most prominently featured during the team's pregame introductions...and all for good reason.

The chalk toss was one more thing that put James on a different level from his teammates. That may not be why he dumped it -- there was no chalk toss prior to at least the last two games -- but the result is another in which James can lead by example.

Stat tracker (top-line numbers, to date)

15 games, 24.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 7.2 apg, 37.4 mpg

Soon

With 796 3-pointers in 11-plus seasons with the Cavaliers, James is just seven short of passing franchise leader Mark Price (802).

The problem? As part of his refocusing, James is going to the hole more and shooting fewer threes.

James vs. Orlando, Nov. 24

Though he is averaging 4.4 three-point-attempts per game this season, last week James took just 3.6 three-point shots each night.

He drilled 2-of-4 3-pointers against the Magic on Monday, but he took 17 shots overall and went 9-for-11 from the foul line that night.

The next game against the Wizards, five of James' 14 shots were threes (only one went in), but he was 14-of-17 from the foul line.

Eleven and 14 foul shots on consecutive nights are the kind of numbers you see from someone who is planning on attacking the rim.

Play of the week

You've seen this kind of play from James over and over during his 12-year career, just not this season. Until Wednesday night.

OK, there were two:

James said afterward he thought he might've fooled Shawn Marion, too.

"He almost cut in front of Kyrie," James said. "I was like, OK, I might need to throw the ball right now."

Money talks

Don't forget, James' marketing company, LRMR, represents Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel.

So when Manziel took the field Sunday in the fourth quarter of the Browns' loss to Buffalo...

Here we go @JManziel2! — LeBron James (@KingJames) November 30, 2014

In the news

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Tweet of the week (to @joevardon)

I picked two, of from each end of the spectrum.

Maybe his elbow hurts “@joevardon: LeBron's 2nd in NBA in TOs and had lowest point output in 3 seasons last week. http://t.co/mH86NcdwLb” — Matthew Cox (@matthewrcox) November 24, 2014

@joevardon without him we would be 0-12! — Jamie Ross (@ross4000) November 24, 2014

Who's next

A look at the Cavaliers' opponents this week and what James did against those teams earlier this season (* denotes games from last season with the Heat)

Tuesday vs. Milwaukee* (3 games, 21 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4 apg)

Thursday @ New York (on Oct. 30, 17 pts, 5 rbs, 4 ast)

Friday @ Toronto (on Nov. 22, 15 pts, 1 rb, 10 ast)