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Three Takeaways: Celtics 105, 76ers 87

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Boston Celtics basketball is back.

The first game of the regular season for the Boston Celtics did not disappoint. Both teams got off to a slow start, but Boston was able to pull away heading into the fourth quarter and didn’t look back. By the end of the game, the entire team was firing on all cylinders.

Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly from game 1 of 82.

Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers handles the ball against Kyrie Irving of the Boston Celtics during a game on October 16 2018 at TD Garden in...

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1. Kyrie Irving off to a slow start

Though the Celtics pulled off the win, Kyrie’s absence on the offensive end was notable. In the first half, Irving didn’t score a single point, going 0-8 from the field. He finished going just 2-14 from the field for 7 points. That included one two, one three, and two free throws. Fortunately, the rest of the team was able to pick up the slack on the offensive end. Hopefully, Kyrie can get his scoring swagger back in time for Friday’s tilt.

However, he did finish with seven assists, and was also a +9 plus/minus, so his performance wasn’t poor. It’s unlikely this scoring relapse will carry over into the next games.

2. Jayson Tatum leads the charge

While Kyrie struggled from the field, Jayson Tatum was the leader on the offensive end of the court. He finished with a game-high 23 points on 9-17 shooting from the field. He also looked at times to be the commander of the court, often times serving as the primary ball-handler.

Tatum had a number of sweet pull-ups, and a beautiful drive and dunk, as well. Near the end of the game, he also took Joel Embiid to school on a free throw line jumper. The NBA sophomore looked confident on the court, and it showed in the box score.

Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics dunks the ball against the Philadelphia 76ers on October 16 2018 at the TD Garden in Boston Massachusetts NOTE TO...

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3. Defense looks as strong as ever

The staple of the Boston Celtics looks to be the same as ever: defense. Boston was able to hold Philly to just 87 points in the opener. They also forced 16 turnovers, including 10 in the first half alone. Leading the defensive effort was Al Horford, who had 5 blocks and affected multiple other shots at the rim.

It’s obvious that the defense won’t be an issue this season, as if that were ever a question.

Bonus: Gordon Hayward!

The forward made his Celtic debut at the TD Garden, playing 24 minutes and scoring 10 points. While it wasn’t the greatest performance, it was most certainly encouraging to see him back on the court scoring buckets.

Gordon Hayward high fives Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics during a game against ethics's Philadelphia 76ers at TD Garden on October 16 2018 in...

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An emphatic performance in the season opener was surely an awesome sight for Boston Celtics fans. They’ll look to keep the momentum going on Friday against the Toronto Raptors in Canada.

Celtics’ Top Opponents for the 2018-2019 Season

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The Boston Celtics were one of the most entertaining teams in the NBA last year. The 2017-2018 season had a lot of amazing games by the Celtics, which most notably consisted of comeback wins against the Rockets (26 points) and the Warriors (26 points). The season, though, was plagued with injuries, whether it was the Hayward injury that kept him out the whole year, or the Kyrie injury that made him miss the last few weeks of the regular season, the Celtics always found a way to make many of their games exciting no matter who they played.

The C’s are now one of the most feared teams in the NBA and cause many exciting matchups. Here are five opponents that will be the best to look for in the upcoming NBA season:

1. Philadelphia 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers look to be Boston’s biggest threat in the east at the moment with LeBron’s destination still unknown. The 76ers are a very young team with Embiid and Ben Simmons leading them all the way to the playoffs. Philadelphia lost the regular season series to the Boston Celtics 3-1. One of those games took place in London, where the Celtics came from 22 down to beat them 114-103. The Celtics then lost the next game to Philly 89-80, but that would not be the end to this series.

Boston played Philadelphia in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference Playoffs that year. The C’s were very large underdogs as they opened +300 in that series. On some betting websites they rose all the way up to +750. This series was a dominant one for the Celtics. They won it in only five games consisting off a 22 point comeback in Game 2 and an overtime win in Game 3. Things also got very heated between the teams during the series.

This Philly and Boston rivalry has grown very big ever since the Super Bowl, and will only get bigger with these two powerhouses going at each other.

2. Golden State Warriors

The defending back-to-back NBA champs come in at number two on this list. Golden State is arguably the greatest team of all-time, which is why they will be high on this list. The Warriors are coming off championship wins in 2015, 2017, 2018, and they look to continue that streak of dominance.

There is one team in the NBA who the Warriors haven’t consistently dominated: the Boston Celtics. Boston has split the season-series with the Warriors the past three years, and are the only team in the NBA other than the Warriors with a winning record in the Oracle Arena since 2015. The Celtics in 2016 were the team to stop Golden State’s record-breaking 54-game home win streak.

The Celtics beat Golden State in Boston for the first time since 2015. This game looked bad for Boston with Golden State going up 22. The Celtics then erupted to go on a 19-0 run and won by a score of 92-88. This lead many to believe that Golden State versus Boston could be a finals matchup of the future. Even Stephen Curry believes that.

The Celtics were only one game away from facing the Warriors in the 2017-2018 NBA Finals, but came up short in Game 7 against Cleveland in the Eastern Conference Finals. With Golden State favored again to win the NBA championship and the Celtics healthy going into next season, this could be a possible Finals match-up in the making.

3. Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets were also only one game away from the NBA Finals, just like the Celtics. The Rockets ended the regular season last year with the best record in the NBA, going 65-17. The Rockets and Celtics played twice this year and split the season series in two of the most entertaining games of the entire regular season. In the first game the Celtics won 99-98 in a 26 point comeback. This game had Marcus Smart drawing two late offensive fouls on James Harden, which set up the game-winner by Al Horford.

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The Celtics-Rockets series next year looks to continue on this excitement. Especially with the thought of LeBron joining one of these teams.

4. Los Angeles Lakers

The Boston-LA rivalry hasn’t felt as important as recent years, but that looks to change in 2018. The Lakers are filled with young talent like Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Julius Randle.

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The Lakers are also poised to get a big name via trade or free agency whether its Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, or LeBron James. There are even talks of them forming a super team with all three of those players. If the Lakers can acquire one of these players, the rivalry could be back on.

5. Toronto Raptors

Toronto has been a force in the Atlantic division for years now. The duo of Kyle Lowry and Demar Derozan has been one of the best backcourts in the NBA. Toronto finished first in the Eastern Conference, but got swept by Cleveland in the semifinals. This led to Toronto firing Dwyane Casey. Toronto may not be the force in the playoffs that they are in the regular season, but winning the games against them in the regular season could be the difference in home-court advantage for the Celtics in the playoffs.

The Boston Celtics were one game away from making it to the NBA Finals last year. With this set of opponents for next season, they can really see how they stack up against the rest of the NBA.

YOUNG C’S CAN SPRINT, BUT NBA IS A MARATHON

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REGRESSION TO THE MEAN

After a blazing hot start to the season, the Celtics have come back down to earth a bit in the month of December. Having lost just two games in both October (first 2 games of season) and November, they’ve hit that mark in December less than two weeks in. Not long ago, it seemed like this team might not lose another game. Now, the reality of the long haul that is an NBA season is starting to set in, as the Celtics try to navigate injuries, tough stretches of the schedule, and players hitting potential walls. The latter is highly characteristic of youthful players, in which the C’s have many.

LONG SEASON

That reality smacked everyone in the face after a blowout loss to the then 5-20 Bulls. Even rookie sensation Jayson Tatum had a truly poor all-around game for seemingly the first time in his career. In the next game against the Nuggets, the C’s gave up a season high 118 points. Tatum did bounce back with the swagger of a vet, however, contributing in his uniquely important role for a rookie. Back to his usual self, he made selective but big plays all game long, and they found a way to win. Kyrie also once again showed what he can do in the clutch. Still, you have to wonder how far a team can go relying on late-game heroics with such consistency.

This team has fought through all kinds of adversity already at this point in the season and come out on top. One of the biggest things they haven’t been through is tough stretches with multiple losses. The team started the season in a sprint, but are going to get a tough lesson that a NBA season is a marathon by the end of the season. Losing is something these guys haven’t done much together as a collective. It will happen more than it has, and it will be the biggest test they face yet.

INJURY BUG

Obviously Gordon Hayward has missed all but 5 minutes of the season. Fortunately, his surgery went well, and recovery sounds ahead of schedule. He got to shed his walking boot this week. There are still no expectations for him playing this season, but it would be great to see him get some game action so he can hit the offseason full steam. It doesn’t need to be much, but it would be good for the future if he is 100%.

Paul George’s recovery from an equally gruesome injury is the ideal model. He was brought back in a limited role, playing about 15 minutes a game and sitting out back-to-backs. He appeared in just 6 games at the end of the season, but came back and had his best year statistically to that point the next season. George attributed much of his success to already having his confidence from getting game action the previous year. If Gordon does miss the remainder of the regular season, I wouldn’t expect him to be thrust into playoff action, even if he is 100%.

Us C’s fans were spoiled by the hot start, but it turns out these guys aren’t quite superhuman. They have been plagued with injuries all season, and it might finally be catching up to them. Kyrie has missed time here and there. Horford sat out against the Nuggets after banging knees in the Bulls game. The worst news comes from a recurring issue, with Marcus Morris expected to miss extended time due to the knee that has kept him out of several contests.

TOUGH MONTH

Before this season, there were more back-to-backs, but also more 2 and 3 day breaks. Now, teams are playing almost every other night in an attempt to lessen back-to-backs. Kyrie has talked about the difference in the grind this year, and didn’t have many good things to say about it. Less than a month into the season, he was talking about everyone already being banged up.

When the team finally got a 2 day break going into the 76ers game, everyone from players to staff raved as if it was a gift from God. Having played almost every other day since the season started, the Celtics could use a break. Unfortunately, things will get worse before they get better. They have two back-to-backs before Christmas and another right after before finally getting another rare two-day break.

CRY NOW, LAUGH LATER

Take that gift out and that’s over two straight months of playing every other night, littered with multiple back-to-backs. If the Bulls game was any indication, it is finally starting to catch up to them. For literally the first time all season, the Celtics never seemed to be fully in the fight. After all the comeback victories this team has put together in the young season, it never felt like they were going to go on a run against one of the leagues’ worst teams. They came out flat, and that’s how they finished.

The C’s could be in for a couple more of those flat games, as the schedule ramps up in a time where they desperately need some extended off time. The schedule does lighten up a bit in the new year, especially after the all-star break. Even if it results in some mid-season woes, this team is trying to make a deep playoff run. The regular season schedule will play in their favor in the long-term. They will get the tough stretches out-of-the-way early. They won’t have as many games later in the season, but they will be playing higher quality opponents. The annual road trip out west should be a good opportunity to get ready for the playoffs. More practice time ahead of the postseason will be key as well.