NBA Opening Night - What I Learned And What I Didn't

Welcome to The Truda Report everybody. Today I'll be quickly going through the two biggest games last night (Cavs vs. Celtics and Warriors vs. Rockets) and giving you my takeaways from the first games of the season. I know it's early, but that's part of why I'm doing this. I've seen a lot of talk about what the impact of these two games will have on the rest of the season, and I'm here to tell you what to buy into and what you can ignore. Make sure to share this article as it helps TTR grow.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Boston Celtics:
This game, unlike the one I'm going to talk about next, has huge implications for the rest of the season. Only six minutes into his playing career as a Boston Celtic, Gordon Hayward went down with a gruesome leg injury. He went up for an alley oop, was contacted in mid air, and fell down awkwardly on his leg. His left ankle was dislocated and jutted out at a ninety degree angle. His tibia was also fractured, which almost surely puts an end to Hayward's season. It was both a horrifying and sad moment, and its impact not only emotionally but talent wise for the Celtics can't be put into words. Boston was poised to be an incredible competitor for Cleveland this year, and without Hayward, the Celtics don't stand much of a chance. The Eastern Conference once again looks to be Cleveland's.

Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets:
This game was definitely not as impact as Cleveland and Boston's was. Many are making a huge deal out of the fact that Houston upset the Warriors in a 122-121 thriller, but there is absolutely nothing to take out of this game. To start, the Warriors had a huge lead in the second half, and laziness due to it being the first game of the season is what caused them to let the Rockets back into the game. Secondly, Kevin Durant was 0.001 of a second away from winning the game with a buzzer beater. If slow motion cameras didn't have the highest quality frame rate, the replay overturning Durant's basket wouldn't have seen the ball barely touching KD's hands as the buzzer went off. It may be fun to talk about the Warriors being 0-1, but there is nothing to buy into here. There was one thing that was a little disconcerting though, and it was Draymond Green leaving the game with an injury. He is having a MRI done on his knee, but it isn't expected to be anything serious. Overall, this game isn't one to look into for clues about the way this season is going to play out.