Irving Shines in Playoff Debut, Cavs Take Game One

AP Photo/Mark Duncan

When the Cleveland Cavaliers drafted Kyrie Irving first overall in 2011 NBA Draft, they visioned Irving leading the charge come playoff time. It may have taken four years for that vision to come true, but the Cavs, along with Cavs' fans, finally got to see that dream come true.

In his first career playoff game, Irving scored a game-high 30 points in the Cavs'  113-100 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

There were constantly reminded of how many games that Irving has played in the playoffs, but that didn't matter. He has shown on multiple occasions that he doesn't shrink in the biggest of moments, as he has hit his fair of big-time shots, including this shot in a  career-high 57-point performance against the San Antonio Spurs just over a month ago.

Don't forget all the game-winners, either, including this one against the Portland Trail Blazers on Jan. 28. Oh by the way, he also scored 55 points in this game.

There are countless examples of how Irving has played on the biggest stages, but none in the playoffs. People wondered how his game would translate into the postseason, but as Cavs fans, we knew there was no worry about his play in the NBA's "second season."

So instead of "how will Irving perform in the playoffs," it was "when will we finally be able to see Irving in the playoffs?"

In that case, he didn't let any one down today for those who were as eager to see him perform in the playoffs. Irving was automatic from behind the arc, hitting 5-of-his-9 three-point attempts, with each of those makes coming at times the Cavs desperately needed a big shot.

After Isaiah Thomas hit a mid-range jumper with five seconds left in the first half to cut the Cavs lead to five, Irving came down and did what he does best. Irving rushed the ball down the court, sized up his opponent and pulled up from behind the arc and nailed it as the clock zero.

Then, with the the Celtics again starting to come back, Irving made sure that there would be no more close encounters the rest of the game. With 8:53 left in the third quarter, Irving would hit his fifth three-pointer of the game to give the Cavs an 11-point lead and started a run that the Cavs would push the lead to as big as 18 points.

It was more than just offense that made Irving's night special, as his impact was seen on the defensive side. Although he struggled out of the gate on Boston's guards, Irving was active all over the court over the final three quarters, shaking off some of the slander he receives for his defense.

Combine how he played on both ends of the court, and you can see why Irving was made to play in the playoffs and why so many people were excited to see him play in this type of atmosphere. He was a big reason why LeBron James decided to come back to Cleveland, and as we all saw tonight, Irving let us know that James did make the right decision.

And if there's one thing we can take away from Game 1, it's this: It's Kyrie Irving's world, and we're all just along for the ride.

Three Things:

1. This is going to be fun.

It took four years, three No. 1 overall picks and countless losses to get to this point, but we finally are back in the playoffs. I wrote about how important this game was earlier today, but unlike the first hyped up game of the year, the Cavs did not disappoint. After a rocky first quarter, the Cavs dominated the final three quarters in the first game against the Celtics and won by double-digits. LeBron did LeBron things, Irving flashed his offensive brilliance and Love played better than the stat-line would suggest. Overall, it was nice to see some domination from a Cleveland team in the playoffs, and it's hopefully a sight we will continue to see over the next two months.

2. Don't discount how well Kevin Love played today.

If you look at everything other than the shooting numbers, Love actually played a really good game. He was a monster on the boards, did an excellent job of passing on offense and didn't play terrible defensively. Most importantly, he looked healthy for the first time all season. He was skying for offensive rebounds (something he lacked in the regular season) and took two charges over the course of the game. Although Irving played outstanding in his playoff debut, Love definitely didn't disappoint. Honestly, outside of scoring, you couldn't have asked for a better game out of Love. If this is the worst he plays all playoffs, all will bode well for Cleveland.

3. Hack-a-Tristan?

With 6:21 left in the fourth quarter, Jared Sullinger fouled Thompson 50-plus feet away from the basket. Thompson split the free throws and would be taken out after the second free throw. What made this interesting was that Celtics coach Brad Stevens was trying to implement the "Hack-a-Player" strategy on a guy who is shooting 64.1 percent from the line. Most of the time, coaches will do this on guys who shoot sub-60 percent from the line, guys like DeAndre Jordan and Dwight Howard. Was this just a blip in the radar? Or is this something we'll see all series, especially in close games.

Statline of the Game:

Kyrie Irving: 30 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 11-of-21 shooting.

After a four-year wait, we finally got to see our beloved second son play in a playoff game. And as we noted above, he didn't disappoint.

Series:

Game 1: Cleveland, 113-110

Game 2: at Cleveland, April 21

Game 3: at Boston, April 23

Game 4: at Boston, April 26

*Game 5: at Cleveland, April 28

*Game 6: at Boston, April 30

*Game 7: at Cleveland, May 2

*- if needed