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

Frontcourt storylines to watch

Can Larry Nance Jr. and Ante Zizic kick it in high gear?

There’s a good chance Larry Nance Jr. gets the start tonight with Tristan Thompson potentially getting the night off. Even if he doesn’t get the start, he’ll have tough customers to deal with at all times. Al Horford is as crafty as they come for an NBA big and dealing with Aron Baynes‘ physicality is no easy task, not to mention potential switchouts against Smart and Rozier.

Offensively, look for Nance to really turn it up a notch after rebounds with Love sidelined, and with Rodney Hood, Cedi Osman and Sexton wanting to get their perimeter looks.

Nance was solid with five points, seven rebounds and two assists, and was a +6 in 17 minutes. He’ll play the majority of the first half I would think, and should have another good outing, which could be a sign of what’s to come in the near future as the year progresses.

He’ll continue to get better with more experience and with more playmaking responsibilities in an up-tempo system.

I would expect Ante Zizic to get some good run in this one, too. He played okay in the first matchup with four points on 1-of-2 shooting, five rebounds and two blocks. On the down side, it was disappointing to see him have three turnovers and four fouls in 13 minutes.

Hopefully he can log some minutes against Baynes and potentially Daniel Theis. Both will be regular rotation bigs for Boston, and present challenges as rollers, and Theis can space the floor.

That’d be good exposure for Zizic, who Cleveland will need to play some this year.

Can Sam Dekker affect the game more?

Sam Dekker has shown one thing throughout his young career: he’s consistently inconsistent. Dekker will have flashes in transition, and has some switchability on defense, but he often seems confused. He’s in a new situation this year in Cleveland, and started like it, as he had two points on 1-of-3 shooting and one rebound in 18 minutes.

Quite frankly, he was spectacularly spectacular.

If he can simply finish better at the rim and knock down the occasional corner triple, his energy could help the Cavs in 15 or so minutes per game. He did make a few nice pocket passes to the bigs, though, and any added passing would be huge for this young team.

Hopefully he can be re-energized at home, and play decent defense.

Billy Preston and Bonzie Colson’s productivity

Billy Preston did seem a little lost on Tuesday night. As one of Cleveland’s two-way players this season (along with guard John Holland), he has real promise.

Preston did seem a bit in awe of the situation, though, as Lue noted, per Davies again. That’s understandable, considering he hasn’t played much competitive basketball since high school.

Preston did flash in the paint on defense with a block, and did have two steals, but he didn’t shoot it how he’s capable of Tuesday. He should have more than one point and two rebounds being more comfortable at home.

Bonzie Colson didn’t play Tuesday, but he’ll get some run here. The Notre Dame product could have a few intriguing matchups against Theis, Ojeleye and potentially Boston rookie Robert Williams.

The Cavs could benefit from Colson’s post play on both ends, and he can shoot it from deep a little bit, which could open up driving lanes.

With the first preseason game at home for the Cavs, it definitely feels like the NBA is fully back again. That’s just beautiful.