Lamond Murray's old coach watches him with regularity on satellite television in his Texas home. He sees his improved defense. He sees him hustle more. He sees the 20-point games pile up for the Cavaliers.

John Lucas' old coach watches his former player on the sidelines. He watches carefully how Lucas interacts with Murray, his high-scoring small forward. He likes what he sees.

``John is a real good match for Lamond,'' said Bill Fitch, who once coached both men.

Fitch coached Lucas when he played for Houston from 1984-86. He was coach of the Clippers from 1994-98, Murray's first four seasons in the NBA.

Fitch is hardly alone in his opinion. It's becoming more evident each game that Murray has been reborn under Lucas, in his first season as Cavs head coach.

Murray didn't mesh with former Cavs boss Randy Wittman. He was benched last February for the remainder of the season for what Wittman thought was lackadaisical play.

The Cavs tried to trade Murray during the summer. A deal with San Antonio fell through when Murray wouldn't give up the two option years at the end of his seven-year contract, which runs through 2005-06.

It might be the best trade the Cavs never made. Murray leads the team in scoring with a 17.3 average, which is in line to top his career best by more than a point. Over the last eight games, Murray is playing the best basketball of his career, averaging 21.4 points while shooting 43 percent on 3-pointers.