Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from 2018-19 season opener

3. Kyrie Irving struggles in season debut

Irving is one of the best players in the NBA. His strengths include ball-handling and shot creation, but his offensive game was not showcased very well in Tuesday’s home opener against the 76ers. There’s no doubt that he’ll find his rhythm quickly.

Last season, he was the Celtics’ best offensive player, averaging 24.4 points per game on 49.1 percent shooting from the field and 40.8 percent shooting from 3. In his first game, Irving only scored seven points on 2-of-14 shooting from the field, going 1-for-8 from 3.

He only played 29 minutes, which was tied for the most on the team. Terry Rozier logged 26 points and filled in very well for the struggling Irving. It’s good the Celtics have the luxury to sub other guards in to help if the offensive woes persist.

It’s not often Irving shoots that poorly. It didn’t matter if he was open or not, nothing seemed to fall. Usually when a team’s best offensive player shoots that poorly, they don’t typically win by almost 20 points.

Tatum picked up the slack and was able to score the ball for Boston. Irving was also able to get his team involved, tallying seven assists. Last season was another injury-riddled season for the Former Blue Devil. He missed 22 games, most of them coming at the end of the season.

He’s coming off knee surgery, so it could just be some early season rust, but it’s something to keep an eye on if he continues to shoot so poorly. His shot looked flat, which is unusual. Whatever the case may be, it was only one game.