Cleveland Cavaliers: What to watch for in second leg versus Boston Celtics

Perimeter storylines to watch

Collin Sexton vs. Terry Rozier

Collin Sexton is going to be one of the fan favorites on the Cavs for a long time. That’s not a hot take, and he’ll get his first career NBA start (I know it’s just preseason), but it’s a reason to tune in.

Sexton showed why the Cavaliers drafted him eighth overall in the last game, as he had 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting while having a +4 plus-minus. He had a really clutch bucket in the final minutes, too.

Going against Boston’s Terry Rozier, who will get the start tonight with Kyrie Irving not playing again, will be a challenge for Sexton, but the “Young Bull” will be just fine.

Rozier is a heck of a player in his own right, and is a plus defender when it comes to D-ing up opposing point guards. It’ll be entertaining in the first half.

David Nwaba/J.R. Smith vs. Boston 2’s/3’s

David Nwaba showed out in his Cleveland debut. The new signing had 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, and showed a bit of why he’s got a spot in Lue’s rotation (per Davies). Nwaba played good team defense and had four rebounds in his 12 minutes, too.

Look for Nwaba going against Marcus Smart and potentially Marcus Morris. With Gordon Hayward having the night off in this one (per Celtics.com’s Marc D’Amico), look for Nwaba to have some defensive matchups on them in pick-and-roll or in the post.

The return of J.R. Smith from hip soreness should be interesting as well, without Korver playing, in particular. Smith is coming off two down seasons where he had the two lowest PER’s of his career (of 8.1 and 8.5, per Basketball Reference), and needs to get his mind right heading into a crucial season for him.

He should have matchups going against a combination of Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Semi Ojeleye in his first preseason action. It would be beneficial for the Cavs to get Smith some early perimeter looks to get his confidence going heading into the regular season.

Can Isaiah Taylor and Kobi Simmons bounce back with more minutes?

Both Isaiah Taylor and Kobi Simmons did not have encouraging performances in the fourth quarter of the last preseason game. Taylor did not seem comfortable at all, and even with his elite speed, it seemed really difficult for him to get clear angles for drives.

The bucket he made was big, but he shot just 1-of-4 and had one assist and one turnover.

If he can show off a bit of perimeter shooting, as he’s done in the G-League predominantly in the last two seasons (45.6 percent three-point shooting over two years), it would be much better for his sake in making the regular season roster. He’ll need to be better against the likes of Walt Lemon Jr. and Jeff Roberson.

Simmons was a rough quarter, too, as he was just 1-of-6 from the field and was really forcing things. He’s a capable mid-range scorer, like Jordan Clarkson, so you’ll have that at times, though.

Defensively, he’ll need to be more engaged as well; his close-outs to shooters left a lot to be desired and getting a few long rebounds could allow him to get a few transition chances. That never hurts.

Here’s a look at the potential storylines to watch in the frontcourt.