Cleveland Cavaliers (0-2) at Boston Celtics (1-1)
Sunday, October 12, 2025
7:00 PM ET
Preseason Game#3 Home Game #1
TV: ESPN, NBCSB, FDSN
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WTAM/WMMS, Sirius XM
TD Garden
The Celtics return home to continue their preseason with a visit from the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Celtics are 1-1 after a win over the Grizzlies and a loss to the Toronto Raptors. The Cavaliers are 0-2 after losing 2 games to the Chicago Bulls. This is the third of 4 preseason games for both of these teams.
The Cavs won 64 games last season to finish 1st in the East and 2nd in the league, behind only the Champion Thunder. However, their success didn’t follow from the preseason. They went winless last preseason and their last preseason win was in 2023. Over the past 4 preseasons, they have won just 2 preseason games.
The Celtics are split about evenly between returning and new players. They have 9 returning players and 8 new players on the team this season. Gone are Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday and Luke Kornet. New players include Anfernee Simons, Josh Minott, Chris Boucher, Hugo Gonzalez, Max Shulga, and Amari Williams. RJ Lewis, and Luka Garza. Learning each other’s tendencies and building chemistry will be important in this preseason.
While the Celtics are a considerably different team this season, the Cavaliers core remains the same as last season. They traded Isaac Okoro to the Bulls for Lonzo Ball. They drafted Tyrese Proctor with the 49th pick in the draft. They signed Larry Nance, Jr. as a free agent out of Atlanta. Nance was also with the Cavaliers from 2017 through 2021. They also signed Thomas Bryant as a free agent from the Pacers. They also lost Ty Jerome as a free agent.
The Celtics have talked about war-like practices. Several players and coaches have said that this has been the hardest training camp that they have been a part of. They have vowed to play fast and hard this season. They backed up that vow in their first game against the Grizzlies and for the most part during the second game while they built a 26 point lead against the Raptors. They took their foot off the gas, however and lost the lead and the game in the 2nd half.
I’m 100% guessing at the Celtics’ starting lineup. They sat Pritchard, Simons and Queta in the first game. They sat Brown, White and Hauser in the second game. I’m thinking that at some time they are going to have to start Pritchard, White and Brown together. I’m also thinking that they may reward Boucher and Garza for their good play in the first two games and start them also. I’ve included Cleveland’s starters from their game notes. As always, it’s hard to tell if the coaches will start a normal starting lineup or start all the Exhibit 10 players.
Jayson Tatum will once again sit out this game due to the torn Achilles. However he has fans excited after dunking recently, just 5 months after his surgery. Jordan Walsh is questionable after leaving Wednesday’s game with a groin injury. For the Cavaliers, Darius Garland is out with a toe injury and is expected to be out until November. Max Strus is expected to be out until December with a foot injury.
Possible Starting Matchups
Point Guard: Payton Pritchard vs Donovan Mitchell
Payton Pritchard
Getty Images
Donovan Mitchell
Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Shooting Guard: Derrick White vs Jaylon Tyson
Derrick White
Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
Jaylon Tyson
David Richard-Imagn Images
Small Forward: Jaylen Brown vs De’Andre Hunter
Jaylen Brown
Jaylen Brown
Getty Images
De’Andre Hunter
Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images
Power Forward: Chris Boucher vs Evan Mobley
Chris Boucher
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Evan Mobley
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Center: Luka Garza vs Jarrett Allen
Luka Garza
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Jarrett Allen
Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Celtics Reserves
Anfernee Simons
Josh Minott
Wendell Moore, Jr
Kendall Brown
Ron Harper, Jr
Jalen Bridges
Xavier Tillman
Hugo Gonzalez
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
2-Way Players
RJ Luis, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams
Injuries/Out
Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Jordan Walsh (groin) questionable
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Cavaliers Reserves
Lonzo Ball
Thomas Bryant
Tristan Enaruna
Killian Hayes
Chaney Johnson
Miller Kopp
Sam Merrill
Larry Nance, Jr.
Norchad Omier
Craig Porter, Jr
Tyrese Proctor
Dean Wade
2-Way Players
Nae’Qwan Tomlin
Luke Travers
Injuries/Out
Max Strus (foot) out
Darius Garland (toe) out
Head Coach
Kenny Atkinson
Key Matchups
Payton Pritchard
Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
Donovan Mitchell
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Payton Pritchard vs Donovan Mitchell
Mitchell is the leader of the Cavs and is rumored to be in the MVP discussion this season. Over the first 2 preseason games, he averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.5 steals per game. If he plays, it will probably be for limited minutes but expect him to give the Celtics problems while he is in there.
Jaylen Brown
Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
De’Andre Hunter
Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Jaylen Brown vs De’Andre Hunter
Since Brown sat out last game, I’m assuming that he will be back in the starting lineup for this game and will have a big game. De’Andre Hunter has played well so far and averaged 18.5 points 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block per game. This will be a good match up if both players do indeed play.
Honorable Mention
Chris Boucher vs Evan Mobley
Mobley has always played well against the Celtics. In the two preseason games so far, he averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steas and 1 block. Chris Boucher has started both games so far for the Celtics and he has played very well. I’m guessing that he starts once again in this game.
Keys to the Game
Defense - Whether it is Summer League, Preseason, Regular Season, or Playoffs, defense will always be the key to winning. In the preseason so far, the Celtics are ranked 7th with a defensive rating of 101.9 while the Cavs are ranked 17th with a defensive rating of 107.7. The Celtics have vowed to emphasize defense this season and they showed that they plan to follow through on it for the most part. They need to continue to play tough lock down defense in every game.
Rebound - As with defense, rebounding will always be a key to winning every game. The Celtics are 12th in the preseason, averaging 49 rebounds over the 2 games so far. The Cavd are ranked 31st, averaging 32 rebounds over their first 2 games. The Celtics will need to rebound as a team with players crashing the boards from every position. The Celtics can’t score without the ball and rebounding is a great way to get the ball and to get extra possessions.
Take Care of the Ball - The Celtics had just 13 turnovers in their first game against the Grizzlies, but they turned the ball over 29 times in their second game against the Raptors, most coming from the end of the bench guys who closed the game out. The Celtics have to do a better job of handling the ball and making crisp passes. They aren’t going to win many games if they continue to cough up 29 turnovers per game.
X-Factors
Chemistry and Home Court- This is the 3rd game in the preseason for both of these teams. The Celtics have played two road games so far and this is their first home game and hearing the crowd behind them for the first time this season is bound to give them some extra energy. The Cavs have played one game at home and one on the road but lost both games. With all the new faces on the Celtics, they need to continue to build chemistry While the Cavs should already have chemistry with all the returning players.
Preseason - The preseason is a time for the coaches to get a look at players who may or may not make the team, to experiment with lineups and different plays. Wins and losses are not as important as learning things about the players and the team. I expect that Joe will play a different rotation than he did in the first two games and hopefully they will play well together.