Peyton Watson wants Cavs to adopt ‘take no prisoners’ mentality

The Cavaliers brought in Peyton Watson to strengthen their defense on the wing. He also intends to bring an attitude that spreads through the locker room.

Watson, acquired from the Nuggets in an offseason sign-and-trade, wants Cleveland to approach opponents with an edge.

“Just to go out there with a mean streak. Go out there and try to kill. Take no prisoners mentality,” Watson said, via Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. “That’s my mentality, and that’s something I’ll be echoing to the team. There is no time for being nice and buddy-buddy with the opposition.”

The Cavs will get their first regular-season opportunity to put that approach into practice Thursday at Philadelphia against LeBron James and the revamped Sixers. Philadelphia opened Tuesday with a 106-100 win over the defending champion Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

For Watson, the urgency comes from knowing how many teams are chasing the same thing.

“The league is more competitive than ever, and there are guys going out there that are trying to take what you have, and they want what you have,” he said.

Of course, an aggressive approach alone won’t get Cleveland through the Eastern Conference. Watson pointed to availability, chemistry and consistent habits as essential pieces of a championship pursuit.

“Everybody knows that is the most challenging thing is to stay durable and available for an entire season and practice the right principles,” he said. “That’s something we’re challenging ourselves to do, and I think that we’ve got the personalities on the team for it, and we’ve got the roster for it.”

Watson sounds convinced the Cavs have enough talent. He’s more interested in how they use it.

“After that, it’s not about talking about what we’re going to do but actually going out there and doing it,” he said.