Cavs vs. Celtics preseason preview: How to watch, odds, and injury report

CLEVELAND, OHIO - MARCH 08: James Harden #1 of the Cleveland Cavaliers drives to the basket around Baylor Scheierman #55 of the Boston Celtics during the fourth quarter at Rocket Arena on March 08, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Celtics defeated the Cavaliers 109-98. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers open up their preseason campaign against the Boston Celtics tonight at home. This is the first of three exhibition games for Cleveland.

Preseason basketball can be interesting. How much you take from it is completely up to you. Each team has different goals when coming into these contests.

One of the goals for the Cavs is to figure out lineup combinations, specifically, trying to figure out how to split up the backcourt pairing of Donovan Mitchell and James Harden with the frontcourt of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Head coach Kenny Atkinson said after practice yesterday that they’d “mess around” with different lineup configurations in their three preseason games and will also use one of their planned inter-squad scrimmages to help with this as well.

Meleek Thomas’s preseason debut is something to also keep an eye on. Several players have mentioned him as a standout in training camp so far. We’ll see if that carries over to preseason.

Atkinson was asked yesterday if there’s a clear frontrunner for backup point guard minutes. He declined to name one, saying that Mitchell and Harden will serve that role, with his intention to have one of them on the court at all times. That means that they’re really only looking for a “secondary ball handler” that “can hold up defensively.”

The simplest way for Thomas to earn minutes this season will be on the defensive end. We’ll see how he looks on that end this game.

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Who: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics

Where: Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH

When: Thursday, Oct. 7 at 7 PM

TV: DAZN, NBA League Pass

Point spread: Celtics -3.5

Cavs injury report: None submitted

Celtics injury report: None submitted

Cavs expectedregular season starting lineup: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Celtics expected regular season starting lineup: Derrick White, Baylor Scheierman, Paul George, Jayson Tatum, Neemias Queta

Previous matchup: The Celtics defeated the Cavs 109-98 on March 8.

Here’s a look at both teams’ 2025-26 regular-season impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.