Kyrie Irving shows no rust in return to court

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Kyrie Irving could have been forgiven if he didn’t pounce on the opportunity in front of him. 


Coming off an Al Horford screen early in the first quarter of the Celtics’ preseason-opener on Friday night, Irving spotted a path to the basket between two Charlotte Hornets defenders.

Coming off a pair of knee surgeries that cut short his 2017-18 season, it would have been understandable if Irving didn’t have his familiar burst. Playing his first NBA game since March 11, few might have even noticed if the Hornets’ defense converged before Irving could accelerate to the hoop.

But they didn’t. With an explosive burst onto that surgically repaired left knee, Irving rocketed to the blocks, muscled his way off big man Cody Zeller and effortlessly kissed a left-handed layup off the glass for Boston’s first points of the night.

Next trip down, he jab-stepped Walker on the baseline and stepped to his left for a pull-up jumper. There was a pull-up 3-pointer in transition a few possessions later. All vintage Kyrie.

It was hard to tell that Irving hadn’t played an NBA game in six months. And maybe juxtaposed to the more understandable struggles of Gordon Hayward, playing his first game in 364 days, it only made what Irving did all the more notable.

"First time back, it’s pretty remarkable the level that [Irving and Gordon Hayward] can play at, to be able to pick up and go and do those things,” said Celtics coach Brad Stevens.

Irving finished Friday’s game with a modest stat line: nine points, four rebounds, three assists in 22 minutes. He cooled a bit after the fast start but so, too, did the Celtics, who put up a 37-point first quarter then misfired their way to a 104-97 loss at the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.

But one of the big takeaways for Celtics fans should be just how good Irving looked at this stage of the preseason. Since the start of training camp, teammates such as Horford have suggested that Irving might actually have taken his game to another level this summer after being sidelined throughout Boston’s run to the cusp of the NBA Finals last season.

It sounded like the typical hyperbole we hear this time of year. But maybe it wasn’t.

On Friday, Irving had all his familiar dribble moves. Never quite known for his defense, Irving even scrambled to swat Walker near the basket during the opening frame.

It was a reminder of just how good Irving can be.

"He’s been looking really, really good, and you can just tell he’s really eager for the season to start because he had to sit out,” Jayson Tatum said at the start of camp. “[Irving has] worked his butt off this offseason, so he’s ready to get back.”

Echoed Horford on Media Day: “In comparison, last year to this year, he’s on another level. He’s taken it to another level. It’s scary.”

Friday’s glimpse was a reminder of the caliber of player the Celtics are getting back this season. Marcus Morris has boldly declared Irving a top-five player in the league.

For a Celtics offense that struggled so mightily last season, Irving’s return — and that of Hayward  — has the potential to elevate the Celtics to one of the better offensive teams in the league (this after finishing 17th overall in offensive rating last season).

It seems fair to wonder if Irving can take his play to another level this season whether he might generate MVP chatter, particularly if the Celtics are as successful as projected.


Irving might not necessarily put up the most eye-popping stat line — especially having to share the ball on a talent-filled starting unit — but if he quarterbacks the Celtics to success, the chatter will start.

It’d be foolish to overreact to a small glimpse of a preseason game but what Irving showcased should not be diminished. Especially not when much of what Boston accomplishes this season will hinge on the impact of Irving and Hayward.

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