Game 1 | Celtics (0-0) @ Cavs (0-0) | Tuesday, October 17, 2017 | 8:00 PM EST

[Snarly]

Tough tough injury for Hayward. Looks like a good guy..
Celtics fans are blasting Jae Crowder for undercutting him. Maybe they have a case, maybe they dont, but it's pretty ironic seeing them turn on their ex player so fast for doing something that wasn't clear at all. When you compare that incidence to what Olynyk had done to Love and how they defended back then and even up until now is pathetic.
Kyrie just through one of his typical errand passes that this time put his teammate at huge risk, especially while being challenged by LBJ at the rim.

As for this game.. as I see it, this team is going to be so overmatched against the Warriors with the way their offensive and defensive direction is headed to.. it's not even funny.
Love at the 5 just doesn't work when you can't put up historic offensive numbers. Putting Love at the 5 just to compensate for the lack of spacing isn't going to do jack shit. It works when you can play 5 out and have players that can shoot from everywhere with a player that is able to collapse the defense and is also an elite passer.

in the limited time that Hayward was on the floor, the Cavs D was pretty exposed to cuts, ball movement and as a result the Celtics were able to get wide open looks from 3 or easy points inside. I just can't see the Cavs doing well having no one to guard the inside and having everyone stretched out to the 3pt line with Durant cutting and being guarded by a much smaller player in Crowder with no one to back him up at the rim. Once Durant gets the ball inside the arc in motion, Crowder will have problems guarding him with no one to back him up.

Our offense was brutal to watch, it's not like it was a big surprise for me, but it was just very disappointing to watch how poorly coached we look.

It was the first game with out our maybe second or third best player... What did you think would happen. They looked great for what they are as of now.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

It was the first game with out our maybe second or third best player... What did you think would happen. They looked great for what they are as of now.

No, they didn't. But I guess everyone sees things differently.
I wanted to believe they would have better set plays and use of cuts with the starting lineup to compensate for the lack of spacing, but instead they had no idea what they were doing out there. First game doesn't mean much in that regard.. they had a full training camp to prepare better.

I do expect improvement obviously, but not from the starting unit, not anything significant. However, the improvements are going to happen when and if either Wade or Rose come off the bench and when IT gets back.
Although i'm pretty cautious with IT, not because of his injury, but because IT is going to have his own problems on the other side of the court if we don't use him to his full potential on the offensive end to offset that. Standing at the 3pt line isn't going to be a good use.

 

[Tornicade]

Is this what Love being the focal point of the offense looks like?

 

[Andrew]

Nothing about this game impressed me. I think just the fact it was the season opener and Kyrie's return got me into it. It came down to a final possession, something that shouldn't have happened and it produced just a gruesome injury and that's about it.

Glad they got the win and I know its a work in process so I am not getting too high or too low this early.

 

[Green Lantern]

Is this what Love being the focal point of the offense looks like?

I don't expect the lineup to continue to look like it did.
Long way to go.
But first that wreck of a injury was uneasy to look at and it a while to digest that..man that was horrible.
The Cavs area work in progress and I suspect Lue has his work cut out.
Maybe it's those knee-high stockings but they all look slow.
Seriously thats not the best starting 5 out of that bunch.
And they let the Celts back in the game..
Now for a fun point..I saw GS's loss ..nice..

 

[Jose Gonzaga]

I was mildly impressed with the first half actually. We maintained the lead when LeBron sat, Wade did a decent job with the bench and TT first out seemed like the right choice imo. Now could it have been because Boston lost some mojo because of the Hayward injury? Its possible. But Lue' s decisions in the 2nd half really reminded me how terrible he can be. However, over the course of the season,the guys should be more comfortable and with LeBron at the helm everyone should find their place. But there is a lot of work to be done still and it will get rocky, but I'm excited to watch the process and see how far this team can go.

 

[Omar The Horse]

Is this what Love being the focal point of the offense looks like?

Horford and Baynes played him tough and physical.

Kevin really needs to put back on some weight if he’s really going to continue to play the 5 on the regular.

 

[Posterchild]

Horford and Baynes played him tough and physical.

Kevin really needs to put back on some weight if he’s really going to continue to play the 5 on the regular.

Do you think that strength and conditioning can ever makes it profitable for him to play the 5? Improve his touch or power around the rim? I only see the 5 position working if they run inside-out plays for him. This plays to his skill set, namely passing. But it's something about his inside post game that just doesn't fit the 5 position. It just does not to seem to be within his skill set. He does not seem to finish well around the basket. At best, you hope he draws the foul but "and 1s" seem to escape him.

 

[thegodfather]

How is it the next day and we still don’t know what Kyrie said to get a technical foul!? All I’ve heard is he was jawing at the bench and Lebron in particular. Anyone get any specifics?

 

[Jordan]

I wrote an article (mainly video clips) about the horns set the Cavs were running last night. I'd love some comments!

https://sportsbystats.com/2017/10/18/cavshorns/

 

[tocov]

Horford and Baynes played him tough and physical.

Now imagine him against actual good and/or physical centers.