Kyrie Irving's First Basket Back Told Me More Than a 132-Point Preseason Score

Dallas won the tip. Cooper Flagg found Kyrie Irving on the right wing. Kyrie immediately attacked and finished a reverse layup. After nearly 600 days away, his first basket wasn't some careful, timid possession. It looked like basketball.

The 17 points aren't the whole point

Irving finished with 17 on 6-for-13 shooting in just under 22 minutes, added three assists and didn't turn it over. That's promising. But the bigger thing for me is what his comfort level can mean for a Dallas team still figuring out Cooper Flagg's role. If the ball doesn't have to be in one person's hands all game, this offense can grow into something interesting.

Houston played without Kevin Durant, Alperen Şengün and Fred VanVleet, so don't turn this exhibition into a ranking of these two rosters. Marcus Smart led the Rockets with 20. Dallas forced 21 turnovers, and there were useful things to study on both sides. But none of those numbers hit me like seeing Kyrie move again after that ACL injury.