CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Cavaliers unveiled their new-look starting lineup Monday night against the Pistons, swapping out injured Tristan Thompson for Larry Nance Jr. and sending Cedi Osman to the bench in favor of Rodney Hood.

Perhaps the best part of this group is how much Nance and LeBron James -- one of Cleveland's most lethal combinations -- get to play together.

"I think it's just two guys trying to make the right play at all times," Nance told cleveland.com of the pairing. "Obviously he's incredible and he's going to get his points, rebounds and assists, but he's not worried about it. He's just looking to make the right play at all times.

"I think I'm trying to do the same thing. Obviously it doesn't equal the same thing in stats, but I think when you've got guys in the same mind frame and just trying to do what we can to win it's always going to turn out good."

Nance has always been that way, a player who does little things throughout a game that sometimes get overlooked or didn't get utilized properly by the youngsters in Los Angeles who couldn't recognize them.

Detroit's Blake Griffin saw Nance's impact firsthand Monday night, pointing to his energy, box-outs, hustle and physical play in the post that made entry passes more complicated.

"When I was younger and I played I wasn't really good at much," Nance told cleveland.com with a smile. "That was where I hung my hat was trying to be on the court because of defense, energy, effort and trying to win so I guess that attitude remains."

Those traits are appreciated more in Cleveland -- partly because they had been missing during the first few months, but also because what Nance brings is vital when it comes to postseason success.

James is one of many in the organization who recognizes that.

"He's very fast, athletic and puts himself in a position to be successful on the floor," James said. "He's always in the right spots and, for us, if we break the defense down, just try to put it up there for him on a lob or if the five man is sagging off on him, we try to get him the ball where he can get his shots. He makes a lot of energy and effort plays by just being himself and it results in good things for our team."

It's only been nine games, but the James-Nance combination, flashing a high collective basketball IQ, has already shown immense potential. In 127 minutes together, the duo has outscored opponents by 52 points. The others in front of them on the plus-minus list have logged at least 284 minutes and some as much as 900 minutes together.

It has clicked quickly for them on offense, having a rating of 123.1 -- even though Nance admits there are times he's still stunned by James' bullet passes. He said James has a unique gift of seeing open teammates before they do themselves.

"His gravity is ridiculous," Nance said. "When he has the ball the entire other team's defense is just locked on him. So, us cutting and us moving on the backside and him finding us is ridiculous."

James has always thrived in space. In Miami, he had stretchy Chris Bosh pulling bigger defenders away from the rim. Then one of James' first calls after choosing to return to Cleveland was to versatile forward Kevin Love, who was unhappy in Minnesota.

As Nance said Monday night, he's not Love. He's not nearly as accomplished as Love from the perimeter. But Nance's growing offensive game was on display against the Pistons, canning a trio of mid-range jumpers, which left head coach Tyronn Lue stunned. He's been working on extending his range to be more than just an around-the-rim player. If he can continue to keep teams honest with that outside shot, it will once again force the defense into a no-win choice and alter how the Cavaliers are defended.

The natural tendency for opposing centers is to sag off and protect the paint. On Monday night, Andre Drummond loaded up a few times to keep JR Smith, George Hill, Jordan Clarkson and James from attacking the rim. That left Nance open repeatedly, finishing with a career-high 22 points.

Nance's screens have also helped unlock Cleveland's offense when he's on the floor, especially with James as the pick-and-roll maestro.

After screening for James, Nance can either rumble to the rim for lobs or pop to the mid-range area for uncontested jumpers. The same holds true for other James drives if the big man helps off Nance.

When teams stick with Nance and the shooters, it gives James a path to the basket.

If the weak side defender comes over to "tag" Nance on the roll, shooters are free to launch off James' sizzling passes. So concerned about both James and Nance, defenders aren't able to recover in time and the play ends with an open 3-pointer.

Nance has the same impact when screening for shooters, as defenders charge hard to close out on Kyle Korver or Rodney Hood, allowing Nance to quickly slip to the hoop.

The James-Nance frontline has also been stifling on the defensive end, boasting a rating of 100.8.

"Being able to switch, blitz and get back," Lue said. "(Nance) can do a lot of things defensively. We just gotta continue to keep working and just keep trying different things and seeing what's best for us."

There's obvious on-court chemistry between the two, as the Cavs have outscored opponents by 22 points per 100 possessions. Just two kids from Akron thriving as teammates.