NBA Tip-Off: Boston Celtics @ Cleveland Cavaliers Recap

FINALLY! The 2017-18 NBA season has tipped off.  The first game of the season was a great one between the Boston Celtics and the reigning Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers.  The game came down to the wire, with the Celtics down 102-99.  They got two threes up to tie and missed both and fell to the Cavaliers 102-99 in the first of many matchups with the Cavs this season. The game got off to a very rough start.  5 minutes into the game an alley-oop pass was thrown to Gordon Hayward and it was not completed, and in the process of his landing, Hayward suffered a very gruesome injury.  The initial diagnosis was a fractured ankle but was later confirmed by Head Coach Brad Stevens to be a dislocated ankle and fractured tibia in the left leg.  This is heartbreaking news for the Boston Celtics fan base and was a hard moment to watch live on TNT around the nation.  Many players sent their prayers via Twitter to Hayward and even Isaiah Thomas went to the Locker Room where Hayward was receiving medical attention to check on his ex-teammate. I hope he has a great recovery and I pray for him.  

Moving on from that horrible moment, there was still a game to be played.  The Cavaliers and Celtics didn’t hold anything back and both teams came to ball last night.  The Cavs once again received a huge game from King James, as he scored a game high 29 points while grabbing 16 rebounds and dishing out 9 assists over 41 minutes.  He outright dominated this game and really led the charge for Cleveland as he always does.  He got some help from teammate Kevin Love, who scored 15 points and brought in 11 rebounds.  While Derrick Rose scored 14 points, he struggled from the field shooting 5-14, and along with him, Dwyane Wade also struggled going 3-10 from the field scoring 8 pts.  The Cavaliers got a solid night from J.R. Smith off the bench as he added 10 points to the mix as well.  The Cavs really controlled the game well in the first half and ran the floor with purpose and took some great high percentage shots that went down.  Both teams were adjusting to their new look and are still learning to gel together, but they both looked great.

The Celtics got a big game from Kyrie Irving (22 pts, 4 reb, 10 ast) in his first game back to Cleveland since the trade.  Prior to tip-off, he received a tremendous amount of boo’s from the hometown crowd, which is justified but not in the same sense.  I understand it is a sour time in Cleveland with Irving, but you still have to appreciate a guy who helped bring a title to the Land just two years ago.  In any case, the Celtics got a huge game from 2nd year player Jaylen Brown, who scored a team high 25 points and brought in 6 rebounds over 40 big minutes.  He has thoroughly impressed me in this first game, and without Hayward in the lineup for most likely the rest of the season, this could be the time to shine for Jaylen Brown.  Rookie Jayson Tatum will also receive an increased role this year with the absence of Hayward, and he also rose to the occasion tonight.  He scored 14 points and lead the Celtics in rebounding with 10 rebounds to post a double-double in his first career NBA game.  Marcus Smart showed a rough shooting night going 5-16 from the field scoring 12 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.

I hope Gordon Hayward has a great recovery and can make it back on the court as soon as possible.  He is a talented player in the NBA and we’ll miss watching him on the court this year.  Aside from his absence, both teams had a great showing and really kicked off the season on the right foot.  I hope this season brings a lot to a much more competitive field this year and it starts the quest to dethrone the powerful Golden State Warriors.

Written by Nick Kazandjian