Boston Celtics: Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward return; Sixers aren’t a threat

NBA Boston Celtics Kyrie Irving Gordon Hayward (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
NBA Boston Celtics Kyrie Irving Gordon Hayward (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward made their return on opening night, and the Boston Celtics proved to be the class of the Eastern Conference

Many expected the Boston Celtics to be dominant this season. However, I’m not sure many expected them to be this dominant.

In game 1 of the 2018-19 NBA season, the Celtics topped the Philadelphia 76ers 105-87, and for much of the game, Philly didn’t belong on the same hardwood. Oh, and the Celtics did all this with Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward having pretty much an off game.

The duo combined to shoot 6 for 26. Hayward finished with 10 points and Kyrie ended the game with seven.

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It was Jayson Tatum picking up where he left off last season, though, as he led the team in scoring with 23 points. Boston’s defense was too much for Philadelphia to overcome and eventually pulled away from the team built by The Process in the fourth quarter.

And if the Celtics were able to do this with underwhelming games from their two stars, it’s insane to begin to think what they could do with strong performances from Kyrie and Hayward. And, honestly, it goes well beyond the Eastern Conference.

This is a team that fell one game short of making it to the NBA Finals last season without their two stars in the lineup. If Kyrie and Hayward can regain their rhythm – and there’s nothing to suggest that they won’t – this is a team that is deep enough to challenge the Golden State Warriors.

The big question is if their top tier talent is good enough to offset the star power for the back-to-back defending champs.

And maybe we’re really overreacting to what happened on opening night. Maybe this is a complete gut reaction from how impressive, considering the circumstances, in their first game of the season.

But the Boston Celtics are good, there’s no question about that. For the past four years, the Warriors have been seen as virtual world beaters, with no team having any real shot at beating them. Things could be different this season. Thanks to the Celtics.