In impressive back-to-back road wins over the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder, the new-look Cleveland Cavaliers looked energetic, quick, athletic and fun.More importantly, they look like a team that can compete in the Eastern Conference and do some serious damage.Both the Celtics and Thunder rank in the top 10 defensively but the Cavs poured in 121 and 120 points on them in consecutive games.It's very early, but these statement wins show that their acquisitions of George Hill, Jordan Clarkson, Rodney Hood and Larry Nance Jr. were a masterstroke by general manager Koby Altman.The last time LeBon James squared off against OKC in mid-January, he was part of a Cavaliers team that was humiliated at home with a shocking 148-124 loss.Fast forward almost a month and James put on a show with his new teammates as he dropped 37 points, eight rebounds and eight assists en route to a payback win.The Cavs needed a change and the major changes they made at the trade deadline are already having the desired effect after just two games and they look scary.

Overhaul

With a broken locker room and horrible performances on the court, the Cleveland front office had no choice but to overhaul their roster and go in a new direction.

Isaiah Thomas, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert, Dwyane Wade, Jae Crowder and Derrick Rose were all traded to either the Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings, and Miami Heat, respectively.

With those guys in the team, the Ohio-based outfit looked slow, lethargic and completely out of rhythm or cohesion on both ends of the floor.

In just two games, the newcomers have changed all of that. They're playing with an edge and they've built an immediate chemistry on the court which has seen them have real fun in their wins over Boston and Oklahoma City.

In a way, the All-Star break comes at a bad time for them as they'd much rather prefer to continue their momentum.

They're much more engaged defensively and have added pace, length, and athleticism which allows them to guard multiple positions and use several lineups.

“I thought that we’ve got guys that can shoot, dribble and pass and they can make plays,” head coach Tyronn Lue said, per Cleveland.com.

“It’s changed our team, and we’re a lot faster. Now I think we’ve got a chance to switch a lot of things with our size and our length, we can switch stuff defensively. I thought it would be a process, it’s still going to be a process. But the first two games I didn’t think they would not be decent.”

Nance echoed his coach's words, adding: “There’s a lot of energy. There’s a lot of guys helping each other, making up, scrambling around so if one guy gets beat, then the guy steps up and the next guy steps up. There’s a whole lot of teamwork going on.”

Having Clarkson, Hood and Nance come off the bench has also significantly strengthened their second unit.

They outscored the Celtics 50-41 and totally dominated the Thunder with a 51-20 advantage off the bench.

With the talent and youthfulness that this trio brings alongside LeBron, the Cavs will be a handful for teams in the second half of the season as both Boston and OKC found.

The steady presence of veteran point guard Hill will also be a much-needed boost going forward.

He's one of the top three-point shooters in the league this year at 44.9 percent and is already looking like a good fit because of his size and defensive ability.

Effort

The biggest thing that all four new guys have already brought to the Cavs is effort.

It may sound simple, but that is something that was seriously lacking with the players that departed.

The revamped roster looks to be playing for each other and are willing to make extra efforts to help one another.

Talent is crucial in the NBA, but hard work and competing are also important factors when it comes to being a successful team.

It has come as a surprise how quickly the acquisitions have fit it, but Nance believes it comes down to two things.

“All it is, is just playing hard and making the right plays. If you do those two things, you can go play on any team in the league and fit right in," he said.

"I know for myself, that’s what I wanted to focus on, just come in and make sure I’m out there making winning plays. Whether it shows up in the stat book, I don’t care, but deflections, offensive rebounds, charges, blocks, whatever it may be, whatever the team needs, it’s what I’m doing.”

This attitude has been contagious and the Wine and Gold look like a proper team again with a real chance of making a deep playoff run.