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Biggest winners and losers from NBA’s opening night

Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Derrick Rose

NBA opening night consisted of just two games, but boy were they dramatic affairs between four teams likely to contend for a title this season.

It started with Kyrie Irving leading his Boston Celtics squad to Cleveland to take on the guard’s former Cavaliers team and LeBron James. In a game that was marred by a heartbreaking injury, the defending Eastern conference champs narrowly came out on top.

Then in Oakland, the Golden State Warriors took on a game Houston Rockets squad. With a hobbled Chris Paul manning the point, Houston took down the defending champs in a dramatic late-game win.

These are the biggest winners and losers from NBA opening night.

Winner: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers 

LeBron James

In other news, the world really isn’t flat. Dealing with an ankle injury, LeBron looked anything but slowed down in his season debut Tuesday. Helping Cleveland to an early-game double-digit lead, he cruised to yet another tremendous stat line.

The four-time MVP finished Cleveland’s 102-99 win over Boston with 29 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists for a near triple-double out of the gate. He also hit on a potent 12-of-19 from the field. And truly showing he is all about class, James made his way to the locker room following Hayward’s devastating ankle injury to show support for a fellow NBA star. Yeah, it was a good Game 1 for King James.

Loser: Officials in Oakland

A total of 25 first half foul calls between Houston and Golden State. Star guards Chris Paul and Stephen Curry finding themselves in foul trouble throughout the game. A terrible review, then flagrant foul, on new Rockets forward P.J. Tucker. Officials in what was an otherwise entertaining game did whatever was possible to slow down what was a frantic flow.

It’s most definitely an unfortunate situation, and a crew led by the divisive Scott Foster should share the blame. Whenever zebras are a part of the story, it’s not a good thing.

Winner: Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics 

It’s now readily apparent that Brown will have to take on a larger role with Hayward likely lost for the season. He most definitely did his part in a stellar season debut on Tuesday. The sophomore scored a team-high 25 points on nearly 50 percent shooting from the field. He also added six boards and two steals in the loss.

Sure Brown turned the ball over three times. Boston also finished the night negative-five with the sophomore on the court. Even then, it’s obvious that Brown is ready to take that next step for the Celtics.

Loser: Warriors defense

Stephen Curry

Jun 19, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts during the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game seven of the NBA Finals at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

Golden State ranked first in the NBA in defensive efficiency, finishing in the top five in both three-point and two-point percentage allowed. The defending champs also racked up the most blocks in the Association last season. Whether it was rust after playing just four preseason games or something else, the Warriors were simply allowing way too many open threes to a three-point shooting Rockets team.

All said, Houston shot 15-of-41 from three-point range. That’s a lot of attempts, but a lot of them were uncontested. For a Warriors team that quietly prides itself on defense, this is not acceptable.

Winner: Nick Young, Golden State Warriors

Young stepped up in the first half when the Warriors were out of sorts offensively. It included five three-pointers in Young’s Golden State debut. All said, Young scored 23 point on 8-of-9 shooting, including 6-of-7 from distance.

Sure he was a defensive liability here, but Young definitely knows how to hit the open shot. That came out in droves Tuesday night.

Loser: Chris Paul, Houston Rockets

Paul was dealing with multiple injuries in his Rockets debut. It was so bad that the All-Star wasn’t even on the court when Houston closed out an improbable victory over the defending champs in Oakland.

Working on one leg, Paul shot just 2-of-9 from the field and scored four points. Houston also finished negative-13 with him on the court. And despite dishing out 11 assists, it’s apparent that Paul is nowhere near 100 percent early in the season.

Winner: P.J. Tucker, Houston Rockets

Also making his Rockets debut, Tucker came up absolutely huge in this one. He scored 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting and nabbed six boards.

The forward’s four three-pointers on six attempts proved vital, as did some solid inside-out defense against what looked to be an unstoppable Warriors offense early in the game. Tucker provides another dimension for the Rockets. And that came out in droves Tuesday evening.

Loser: Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade, Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland may have come out on top narrowly Tuesday night, but these two new Cavs didn’t impress in the least. The Cavaliers were a negative-seven when the two were on the court. They also combined to shoot 8-of-24 from the field with six turnovers.

As we mentioned in our storylines post, these two will have to hold down the fort until Isaiah Thomas returns from injury. That didn’t happen in Game 1. Instead, the likes of J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert were more impressive when on the court. Cleveland combined to be plus-13 with those two on the court together. It will make for an interesting early-season decision for Tyronn Lue.

Winner: Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers

Love might have struggled with his shot early, but he definitely came through when it counted the most. Up by one with under a minute left, James took pretty much the entire Celtics defense into the lane with him. That’s when King found a wide-open Love in the corner. Swoosh, and suddenly it was a two-possession Cavs lead after Love nailed the dagger three.

The former All-Star would finish the game with a ho-hum 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting to go with 11 boards. But with James on the court, you have to hit that open three. Love did that, pretty much putting Boston to bed in the process.

Loser: Boston Celtics title hopes

It’s unfortunate to look at it this way. Our primary focus should be on Gordon Hayward and his recovery from what looked to be a devastating injury (more on that below). But there is an on-court aspect to this, one that will have wide-ranging ramifications moving forward.

With Hayward likely done for the season, Boston loses one of the biggest off-season acquisitions around the NBA. He was expected to play the Robin to Kyrie Irving’s Batman this season. And while Boston made the game competitive Tuesday after Hayward went out, it’s hard to imagine the team contending with Cleveland over the long term. The likes of second-year wing Jaylen Brown as well rookie Jayson Tatum will have to step up moving forward. That’s a lot to ask from two players not even of drinking age in most states.

Loser: Keven Durant, Golden State Warriors

Durant just didn’t look himself on Tuesday. He struggled with the outside shot, hitting just three shots outside of the lane. The reigning NBA Finals MVP also turned the ball over an absurd nine times against what had been weak Rockets defense in the past.

Even the all-time greats are allowed to have horrendous performances. Putting them up in mid-October isn’t necessarily a big deal. Even then, Durant came up small in front of the lights to open the regular season. That’s most definitely not good. It also didn’t help that his potential game-winning shot came after the buzzer, giving Houston a one-point road win.

Heartache: Gordon Hayward 

Mere minutes into his Celtics debut after signing a max contract during the summer, Gordon Hayward suffered one of the most heartbreaking injuries you will ever see on a basketball court. In a play that reminds us of what happened to Paul George three years back, Hayward will now be lost for what will likely be the remainder of the season. The initial diagnosis is an ankle fracture dislocation.

Hayward was brought on by Boston to contend with the very same Cavaliers squad his Celtics were playing in his 2017-18 debut. Instead of that taking hold, the forward faces an extensive rehab and will likely have to wait a full year to make his impact in Boston. In a sign of solidarity, many NBA players and others within the sports world sent good wishes Hayward’s way after the injury. If there’s any silver lining, that’s it.

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