3 Critical Storylines I'm Focused on In Celtics vs Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers are about to play (preseason) basketball. The hype is here. The new players are set for their first looks with their new teams. And boy, if the air isn’t a little charged with that old “Hello, NBA!” energy, then well, nothing is.

As the team prepares to take on the Celtics tonight, there are three critical storylines I’m keeping my eye on. Let’s dive into it .

How Will Peyton Watson Fit With New Teammates?

The preseason isn’t always the best judge of a season in the NBA, but here, it is an important time for the Cavs. Peyton Watson came over with a lot of hype, and this will be the first time he takes the floor for his new squad. The hope will be for him to connect the guards and bigs, and use his size and length to continue to wreak havoc on the defensive end of the floor.

Watson entered the NBA as a guy that could barely score, and then went and averaged nearly 15 ppg and hit 40% of his threes in year four. He comes to Cleveland off the best year of his career, and I’d love to see him be able to pick up where he left off.

The early part of the game will be a nice indicator of what his touches will look like, and how the impact will translate from the Nuggets to the Cavs.

First Glimpse Of The Rookies

There are two rookies on standard deals with the Cavaliers this upcoming season. Meleek Thomas is the first, a second-round pick out of Arkansas. The intriguing thing here is that he absolutely had first-round talent and the team got a surefire steal by landing him.

Thomas scored it at will in the Summer League, picking right up where he left off at Arkansas. The thing I’m looking to see is where his level of comfort taking shots and being aggressive against NBA talent is. He was playing league hopefuls and young prospects in Vegas. Now, it’s the real deal.

The second rookie is Khalifa Diop. A 2022 2nd-round pick, he has finally come over to the association after four seasons in the EuroLeague, most recently with Baskonia. Diop brings some size and length, standing at 6”11. He averaged four points, four rebounds, and just under a block per game over the past couple of campaigns.

He will likely be the #3 center on the depth chart (#4 counting Evan Mobley), so the minutes won’t be there on a full strength squad. But seeing how he handles NBA talent after his time in Europe will be interesting. Boston has Luka Garza, Mitchell Robinson, Amari Williams, and Neemias Queta at center for the upcoming campaign. He’ll have to be physical.

Team Cohesion After 2025-26 Collapse

The Cavs aren’t the first team to get crushed in a playoff series after a promising lead-up to it, and they won’t be the last. What I want to see here in the preseason opener is how they look against competition.

There was a great quote from Joe Mazzulla at Media Day about every squad having good vibes right now because nobody has had to deal with adversity in the season ahead. So for Cleveland, getting back last year’s Knicks demons is something to keep an eye on.

Joe Mazzulla on reports of the Celtics vibes being high at training camp

"Every team you lead is the most together team right now. Because we haven't traveled. No one's gotten benched. No one's been on a losing streak. No one's gotten blamed in the media. No one's had to go… pic.twitter.com/Gzvfu7fvyY
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) October 4, 2026

With Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen all back, and James Harden now extended for three years, they’ve got the lineup they like. They have Peyton Watson’s size. They can use Sam Merrill and Jaylon Tyson in high-leverage roles off the bench every night if they need.

Mario Hezonja is ready to show what he brings during his second NBA tenure. So now, it’s how they all fit together on the court. Because on paper, this team looks fantastic. We’ll have to see if the actual product is as advertised.

The Cavs have a lot to be excited about with Mario Hezonja.

The hype level is even higher now after he looked fantastic in the team’s intrasquad scrimmage at training camp.#LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/rpLbstzptq
— Across The Cavs (@AcrossCavs) October 6, 2026

How To Watch Cavs-Celtics

Cavaliers vs. Celtics gets going at 7:00 PM ET tonight. You can watch on YouTube TV, Fubo, or NBA League Pass if you’re from out of town. Otherwise, DAZN will be your friend.

Check back after the game as I’ll have a piece about postgame takeaways.

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