Boston Celtics: Grading Kyrie Irving’s debut

What grade does Kyrie Irving deserve for his Boston Celtics’ debut against the Cleveland Cavaliers?

Kyrie Irving was one of the most talked about players of the NBA offseason after requesting a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers. Shortly after his request, Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics swooped in to acquire him in a blockbuster trade that sent Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and other pieces back to Cleveland.

It was a move that made sense for both teams and finally gave Boston the superstar that they had been trying to acquire over the last few years.

Gordon Hayward was also signed in free agency to form a “Big Three” with Al Horford and Irving. Unfortunately, opening night saw Hayward go down with a fractured ankle that could sideline him for the remainder of the season. There is a chance that Hayward could return at some point later in the season, but no news has broken to confirm or deny that possibility.

Now, the Celtics will turn even more to Irving for their chances to compete in the Eastern Conference.

Irving returned to face the Cavaliers in the Celtics’ opening game of the 2017-18 NBA season. It was a matchup that had been highly anticipated since the trade occurred.

In his debut with the Celtics, Irving ended up having a very solid performance. He scored 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting and went 4-for-9 from beyond the 3-point arc. Irving also chipped in 10 assists to complete a double-double, and recorded four rebounds and three steals.

Without Hayward, Irving will be asked to shoulder a large portion of the Celtics’ offensive workload. His 22 points were a bright spot, but Boston will likely need him to pick that number up even more.

Perhaps the biggest bright spot for the Celtics on the night was the playmaking ability that Irving showed. Throughout his career in Cleveland, Irving was criticized for being a selfish player. His assist numbers were not where the Cavaliers wanted them and even LeBron James mentioned on multiple occasions that Irving needed to become a better playmaker.

Overall, Irving’s debut performance with the Celtics went very well. He showed that he is capable of being a leader and handled the Hayward injury well. Late in the game, he was able to hit clutch shots to keep the Celtics in the game.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how the Celtics do without Hayward. Young players will be asked to step up and both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum showed that they can handle bigger roles.

Irving is a star and has a very good opportunity to vault his name into superstardom. Boston may not be championship contenders without Hayward, but Irving can certainly keep them as the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference if he can take his game to the level that the Celtics think he can.

Grading his performance isn’t terribly difficult after his debut. He certainly didn’t play a perfect game and he missed the potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer, but he was a more than capable leader and made his teammates better while still being able to be a scoring threat.

Next: 2017-18 NBA season previews, predictions and power rankings

Grade: B+