Peyton Watson out for Cavs; Meleek Thomas to start

CLEVELAND — It’s a case of bad news, but not terrible news, for the Cavaliers in their home game against the Thunder on Monday.

The bad news? Peyton Watson is out with hamstring soreness.

The not-terrible news? Rookie Meleek Thomas will receive his first NBA start.

Let’s start with Watson. He was listed as questionable all the way until about 45 minutes before tipoff. Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com reported that he is in fact out. Later, Cleveland.com’s Ethan Sands relayed that Thomas will start.

Along with Watson, Jaylon Tyson is out, as is big man Nae’Qwan Tomlin. So the Cavs (4-2) will be down a couple of wing positions, and those are two pretty big losses.

Of course, it’s not quite as bad as the Thunder (4-2). They’ll be without key contributors such as Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso and Cason Wallace.

So yeah, lots of pain in the NBA’s third full week. But a chance for the Cavs to see what Thomas looks like alongside the likes of Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. There are worse things at this time of year.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Rocket Arena.

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