On Thursday morning, we gave you four storylines that we want to follow when the Boston Celtics open up the preseason slate against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.

However, by mid-morning, the Celtics had thrown a wrench into some of that with an announcement that they made on social media.

For tonight’s preseason game at Cleveland, our assistant coaches will take on lead coaching responsibilities. Tony Dobbins will coach the first half and DJ MacLeay will coach the second half. 

First off, it's excellent for Dobbins and MacLeay to get opportunities. It's also a great sign of respect from Brad Stevens and Joe Mazzulla that they are empowering their assistants and helping them grow. That kind of leadership and respect will not go unnoticed by the staff.

However, it does change some of the calculus on how we view this game.

Dobbins and MacLeay just simply won't have the exact same thought process as Mazzulla will on things. They won't speak the same way, ask the same things of players, and they won't play everyone the exact same rotation of minutes. And they will likely explore some different combinations than Mazzulla will within the regular season.

As a result, it's probably fair to say that we'll be evaluating the individuals more in this game than we will the team functionality as a whole.

With that, I'll add that I want to see how Derrick White's shooting looks after a down 2025-26, and I'll want to see how Sam Hauser looks, considering he's a big part of the roster that we just simply didn't talk about much this offseason. Also, how is Jayson Tatum moving around the court, and what exact style of play is Paul George bringing to the table? Is he content to be a jumpshooter, or will we see him attack the rim?

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET and the the game will be televised on NBC Sports Boston. Additional coverage will also be available on the Celtics website.

The Celtics will play their second preseason game on Saturday night in Boston against the Philadelphia 76ers. That will be the first trip back to Boston for Jaylen Brown since he was traded in the offseason.

Brown spent a decade in Boston after being chosen No. 3 in the 2016 NBA Draft. He was named MVP of the 2023-24 NBA Finals as the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks. The two teams will play each other four times in the regular season.