Without Gordon Hayward, Celtics Need More Than Scoring from Kyrie Irving

CLEVELAND — An opening-night capacity crowd of 20,562 people grew loud to cheer on their hometown team, and even louder to troll a former hero.

And then, ghostly silence.

Just over five minutes into his Boston Celtics career and a four-year, $128 million max contract, Gordon Hayward's season likely ended. He fell awkwardly in the first quarter, fracturing his left ankle in a gruesome scene that sent many on the Cleveland Cavaliers bench running.

"You can never think of the right words to say when you see something like that," Cavs center Kevin Love said after the game. "He means a lot to this league. He's a great player. A great dude. It was ugly. It didn't look pretty. Now we just hope for the best and that he can recover quickly."

Kyrie Irving longed to be the focal point of a team, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, but not like this. The Celtics' future is now squarely in his hands.

On Irving's Shoulders

Irving and Hayward were introduced as the new faces of the Celtics just six weeks ago, each charged with scoring and playmaking responsibilities.

Entering his seventh season, Irving has blossomed into a score-first guard whose shortcomings as a distributor were eased by LeBron James'passing instincts. With the Celtics, Hayward was essentially another version of James, a 6'8" small forward with strong handles. Irving theoretically could have continued his shoot-first, pass-second approach.

Without Hayward, Irving's workload becomes far greater.

No returning Boston player averaged more than the 14.0 points per game center Al Horford had last season. The 31-year-old is a nice complement for Irving, as he can shoot from all areas of the floor and help manage the offense with his above-average passing ability. But Boston can't count on Horford to replace the 21.9 points a game Hayward scored last season. That's on Irving and a young supporting cast.

Irving showed flashes of his ideal role versus the Cavs on opening night. After falling behind by 16 at halftime to the Cavs, Boston eventually took a fourth-quarter lead, led by Irving's 10 points and three assists on 3-of-5 shooting from deep in the final period. In the waning seconds of the contest, Irving's potential game-tying three-pointer fell short of the rim, altered by the outstretched arms of James.