Tonight marks the third Cleveland Cavaliers game of the young season, with a tough test coming their way. They will be facing a Minnesota Timberwolves team that rebuilt themselves from a year ago, and look like one of the most dominant groups in the association.
Even though they are coming in on the second night of a back-to-back, the Cavs will have to be at their best in order to stay competitive in this one.
Here are three critical storylines I’m keeping my eye on for this contest.
1) Will The Cavs Backcourt Finally Lock In?
The Timberwolves are probably the best team that the Cavs will have faced on the young season. With all-due respect to the new-look Sixers, this Minnesota team, even without Donte DiVincenzo, is full of talent. They made some offseason deals, and ended up with two All-Star guards in the backcourt.
Next to Anthony Edwards is LaMelo Ball, and they have worked well in tandem to help unlock the offense even further. They destroyed the Raptors just last night, so Cleveland is going to have to be ready for what is thrown at them.
James Harden and Donovan Mitchell have both struggled with distribution and ball control. The Beard has 10 turnovers to 12 assists, while Spida has posted seven assists and nine turnovers. Both are abysmal, and each will have to step up.
Harden too, made just one shot against Brooklyn. How he’s going to have size guarding him. As for Mitchell, he hasn’t shown up down the stretch of the first two. These two will need to lock in for the team to have a chance.
2) Can They Hold A Lead?
A new allergy was discovered in the Cavs medical department this season.The team is allergic to blowing leads. And this is something they are going to have to find a cure for, if they want to survive the 2026-27 campaign.
They led the Sixers by 29, and ultimately lost the game. Missing clutch free-throws, not getting any stops, and losing the intensity that put them up in the first place were all factors. And against the Nets, up 22 in the fourth quarter, everything started to go haywire. The threes kept dropping for Brooklyn, and it was suddenly a two-point game in the waning seconds.
It’s on Kenny Atkinson to be able to handle things like this, so time (today) will tell if he does the things he’s been saying in his press conferences.
3) Will Sam Merrill and Peyton Watson Get Going Offensively
Two games into his Cavs tenure, and Peyton Watson has not looked like the player many expected. To be fair, it is just two ball-games, but, on the other hand, Max Strus had 27 points and 12 rebounds in his team debut three seasons back.
Through these two appearances, Watson has scored 19 points on 6-19 shooting (2-9 3PT), while turning it over seven times to dishing out six assists. He has a big block in each game, a signature of his, but nothing else has come along that. Time is not of the essence this early on, but it’s worth keeping an eye on. He hasn’t gotten too many in rhythm looks, and his fit has seemed awkward with the starting five.
As for Sam Merrill, it’s been a surprisingly quiet beginning to 2026-27. He has dealt with some elbow discomfort, something that kept him out of the Wine & Gold scrimmage, but still. If he’s on the floor, they will need him to come in and make some triples.
Merrill has taken just nine shots through 45 minutes, going 2-6 from 3PT. This, from a volume three-point guy a year ago. They will need second-half shots for him too if they really want to win. More screens and actions have to be set to free up a player who possesses this kind of gravity.
If these two can start to find a little rhythm and get consistent looks, it will raise the level of play for the team across the board.
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