Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from 2018-19 season opener

The 2018-19 NBA season kicked off on Tuesday with the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers squaring off. Here are three takeaway’s from the Celtics’ first game.

NBA basketball is finally back. The Boston Celtics kicked off the 2018-19 season with a game against the Philadelphia 76ers and came out on top, winning the game 105-87.

This game was a potential Eastern Conference Finals matchup. With LeBron James out of the East, the Sixers and Celtics look to take advantage. It remains to be seen what the new-look Toronto Raptors are able to do, but for now it appears Boston is the team to beat.

It was a fairly good game for the Celtics. There were some hiccups on offense, but that was never their strong suit last year. Defensively, things looked really good.

Boston’s best offensive player, Kyrie Irving, did not have a game many anticipated, but Jayson Tatum had a heck of a game. He finished with 23 points and nine rebounds. The Celtics’ bench came in with a new theme — Bench With Attitude, or B.W.A.  They performed well, combining for 44 points. That number beats last year’s average of 34.6 points per game.

It’s only one game, so there’s no need to overreact, though the Celtics did look good in that game. Boston will be tested again in its next game on Friday against the Toronto Raptors. That’s a tough rough game and another potential Eastern Conference Finals preview. If the Celtics can come out on top in both games, then this might be a clear sign they’re the team to beat in the East.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at three takeaways from Tuesday’s action against the Sixers.