The Boston Celtics will open up their 2026-27 preseason slate on Thursday night, but before they do, head coach Joe Mazzulla has taken the team to South Carolina for a three-day training camp session at The Citadel.

Mazzulla spoke over the weekend about why this trip is important to him, and obviously, going away for three days can help foster team chemistry, which is an important hallmark of any good team.

But Mazzulla had an interesting answer on Sunday when talking about team chemistry and the team-building process, saying that all teams are connected at this time of year. He said each team in the league is hopeful and optimistic, and it's easy to be that way when you haven't been tested with any adversity.

He said the lessons learned in a season can only be learned in the season itself. How do players handle being injured? Being benched? A shooting slump? A losing streak? Reduced minutes? Those are all things that will come into play over the course of the year.

The Celtics will travel to Cleveland on Thursday night to take on the Cavaliers. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET. The Cavaliers made the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago, losing to the New York Knicks, who ultimately won the NBA title. 

While some are not believers in a backcourt tandem of James Harden and Donovan Mitchell, the Cavaliers do figure to be solid again this season, especially after trading for Payton Watson of the Denver Nuggets earlier this summer.

The opinions on the Celtics seem to vary widely at this point of training camp. Multiple national insiders believe that the Celtics can remain near the top of the Eastern Conference, even after trading Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers. 

I have written on multiple occasions that I think the Celtics are headed for a No. 5 or No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. And that's not necessarily because I think the Celtics are exponentially worse without Brown, but because I feel the Eastern Conference as a whole is better.

The Cavaliers have gotten deeper, the Toronto Raptors have gotten better after adding Kawhi Leonard, the 76ers have gotten better after adding Brown and LeBron James, and the Detroit Pistons should be better with another year of Cade Cunningham's growth.

And that doesn't even factor in improvements made by the Miami Heat.