MIAMI -- Kevin Love’s early-season toe injury robbed the Cleveland Cavaliers of the chance to use Love and Larry Nance Jr. together.

Head coach Larry Drew has been making up for lost time, and he’s thrilled with the results.

“I love the fact that with (Nance) at the 5 it makes us more athletic and from a versatility standpoint we can do some things, whether he’s in there with Kevin or in there with Marquese (Chriss),” Drew said. “It gives us versatility at both ends of the floor. It allows us to do some things defensively that we love having him involved with. He has been terrific as far as making adjustments whether I play him at the 4 or 5.”

This time, the combination sort of happened by default. Ante Zizic suffered a concussion against the New York Knicks last Thursday, forcing Drew to use yet another different starting group. Love missed the Detroit game to rest, but for the last two games, the Cavs have started Nance and Love together. It’s given Nance, who had been a pivotal piece of the second unit, an opportunity to log more minutes alongside Love.

“I think it really helps to have two guys at the 4 and 5 who can really handle it, shoot a little bit and read the defense and make some passes,” Nance said. “I think it just adds another level of playmaking to our team.”

In 54 minutes together against Orlando and Brooklyn, which is double what they totaled in eight other games at various points this season, the combination boasts an offensive rating of 107.1 and a defensive rating 111.6 -- not bad considering both opponents are in the Eastern Conference playoff hunt and on-court chemistry clearly remains a work in progress.

Early in Wednesday’s game against Brooklyn, D’Angelo Russell and Jarrett Allen took advantage of communication breakdowns, exploiting the weak interior for layups, dunks and floaters. Neither Nance nor Love is really known as a rim protector so that could become a trouble spot as well.

But the tandem has shown exciting flashes.

“I think any time you put any combination out there you are going to have pros and cons, but you have to ask yourself, ‘Do the pros outweigh the cons?’ In some situations it will. In others, it won’t," Drew said. "What that does for our club, I like the two of them together. If we go through the game and feel we need to make some changes, we will make some adjustments. But for right now, it’s a combination I like.”

Drew expects Zizic to return Friday night, which could shift the starting lineup again. Or perhaps Drew sticks with this exciting new duo that, among all the other benefits, adds an element of floor spacing that Zizic can’t, especially with Nance’s improved range.

“Yeah, that’s huge,” Love said. “He continues to expand his game beyond the 3-point line and the better he gets at that, the more effective we will be on the offensive end.”

Love recalls one set Wednesday that highlights the new duo’s potential. After setting a screen, Brooklyn double-teamed Love. He then cut to the basket and drew the defense’s attention. Because of that quick counter, Nance was left open for a 3-pointer, which he missed. But those looks will continue to be there with the court spread and eyes focused on Love. It could keep Nance from having to work so hard for his buckets.

Another perk is the ability to screen for one another. Love pointed to Nance setting an inside screen that led to a pick-and-pop 3 against the spaced-out Nets.

“We both screen exceptionally well -- when we want to,” Love said with a smile. “I think some of the weakside action that we get is pretty good. Larry continues to get better and that’s only helping us.”

Love-Nance was one of the many combinations the team visualized after inking Love to his extension and locking in Nance as part of the new core.

Love being sidelined for 50 games prevented it and then rotational factors entered the equation shortly after Love’s comeback. The Zizic injury finally created the go-ahead, giving Cleveland a potential glimpse into its future frontcourt.

“What’s not to like? I get to play next to a perennial All-Star,” Nance said.