BOSTON – Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens knew it would be an emotional night not only for Gordon Hayward but also for Kyrie Irving and Daniel Theis, who missed significant time, including the playoffs, last season.
“Do your job on the first possession,” Stevens said before the game. “Let everything take care of itself. Because that’s the only way to go about it. I know it’s an emotional night. It’s emotional for everybody to get to play an NBA game again.”
Stevens also predicted some sloppy basketball, especially in the first quarter.
“There’ll be a lot of energy. There’ll probably be some missed opportunities early because of that,” he said.
He was right on both counts.
Hayward, who was playing in his first game since sustaining a gruesome ankle injury in the season opener one year ago, didn’t register his first points of the season until 11:50 of the second quarter. And Irving, who was playing in his first game since March 11, missed his first eight shots and went scoreless in the first half. The Sixers had their own issues with 11 turnovers in the opening two quarters.
Hayward and Irving were expectedly rusty, but the Celtics still defeated Philadelphia, 105-87, illustrating why the Celtics are the favorites to win the Eastern Conference: they are a deep and talented team.
Second-year forward Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 23 points, third-year guard Jaylen Brown had 12 points, and Boston’s bench combined for 44 points: 16 from Marcus Morris and 11 from Terry Rozier. Hayward finished with 10.
The Celtics were far from their best in Game 1, but it’s easy to see how good they will be. They just beat a Sixers team with intentions of playing deep into May and possibly beyond.
Just wait until Hayward and Irving regain their rhythm. Irving had the worst offensive night of the two, going 2 for 14 from the field (1 for 8 on three-pointers) for seven points in 29 minutes.
Hayward found some offense with his mid-range game in the second half and finished with 10 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes. Stevens was careful with their minutes, and he can afford to do that given Boston’s options.
Ben Simmons had 19 points, 15 rebounds and eights assists, and Joel Embiid had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia.
An underappreciated return on Philadelphia's side: Assistant Monty Williams was back on an NBA bench as coach for the first time since the death of his wife, Ingrid, in an automobile accident in February 2016.
Stevens called it. It was an emotional night for more than just one person.
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