After Kyrie Irving recruited Gordon Hayward to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014, they are finally teammates on the Boston Celtics three years later. While Irving won one championship in three NBA Finals appearances with LeBron James, he is looking to take the next step of his career with Hayward and Al Horford.

At the introductory press conference, Irving had high praise for his new teammate according to NBA on TNT:

Despite being the ninth pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, many wondered if Hayward's game would translate to the NBA. However, as Hayward's body has developed, he has improved through each of his first seven seasons and made his first All-Star appearance after averaging 21.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists.

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With the Eastern Conference weakened as numerous All-Stars have moved to the Western Conference, the Celtics and Cavaliers are expected to be the top two teams again. Although the Celtics only have four players returning from last season, the expectation is they will eventually find their way under head coach Brad Stevens.

Heading into the new season, there will be plenty of storylines surrounding the two teams. Fortunately for basketball fans, the Cavaliers and Celtics face off against each other in the season opener on Oct. 17 at Quicken Loans Arena.