5 minutes and 15 seconds into the season, the game result no longer mattered. The return of Kyrie Irving and his missed shot at the end of the game became irrelevant and the television product known as professional basketball broke the fourth wall. When Gordon Haywood's ankle snapped, the entire Cavs bench turned away and so did the supposed importance of the game.
That was until the 4th quarter where the Cavs had to respond to a Celtics 17-4 2nd half scoring run. LeBron James who was only cleared to play hours before tonight's game had to lead his teammates (most of whom are new) to an opening night victory by closing tonight's game on a 7-1 Cavs run.
It's understandable why Ty Lue believed there was no flow to the Cavs offense with James not playing most of the preseason among other basketball reasons. But it was really the human element that took over with Gordon Haywood's injury that cause the entire sports world to stop. Who knew on a night where the baseball postseason is a fever pitch and the crazy finish to the Eastern Conference Finals rematch and the Warriors receiving their championship rings, the top story would be an injury to a star player nobody wishes upon anyone.
After the game, Kyrie Irving hugged it out with most of his teammates displaying that while fans care about rivalries, brotherhood supersedes most forms of elite NBA competition.