The NBA playoffs are off to a great start with new stars emerging, old stars doing their thing and Kyrie Irving being Kyrie Irving.

Thanks to some intriguing first-round matchups and the lack of an overwhelming favorite, it could turn into one of the most interesting postseasons in years.

Here are five observations from the opening weekend of games.

1. Kyrie Irving loves being different.

Former Boston Celtic and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins once said of Irving: “If you take Kyrie Irving’s brain and put it in a bird right now, guess what that bird is going to do? It’s going to fly backwards because Kyrie right now is confused. He’s showing his lack of leadership.”

That was in 2020, when Irving was trying to persuade his fellow players not to restart the pandemic-delayed season in the Orlando bubble. Perkins wasn’t even referring to Irving’s stated belief that the earth is flat, a theory Irving later admitted was wrong. And it was before Irving’s anti-vaccination stance became widely known.

Now Irving is back in the spotlight for flipping two middle fingers at Celtics fans who harassed the Brooklyn Nets guard Sunday during Game 1 at TD Garden.

“It’s the same energy they have for me, I’m going to have the same energy for them,” Irving said.

It’s a sad truth that some fans feel it’s their right to say ignorant things when berating opposing players. Blame social media, the proliferation of sports gambling or whatever you like for the uptick in rudeness. But most players know it’s better to ignore the idiots than react as Irving did.

Now we’ll see how much the NBA fines him for the double bird. The Minnesota Timberwolves’ Patrick Beverley was fined $30,000 last week for “inappropriate statements during a media interview and on social media, including the egregious use of profanity.” Are two birds more egregious than a profane remark?

2. We’re LeBron-free … and loving it.

After being force-fed a steady diet of Los Angeles Lakers games during the regular season, it’s refreshing to watch a LeBron James-free playoffs.

It’s understandable a team with as many stars as the Lakers would be scheduled for so many national TV games at the start of the season, but ESPN, ABC and TNT never seemed to audible even when it became apparent the underachieving Lakers were unlikely to make the postseason.

Now we’re getting a chance to watch younger players who seldom got national exposure showing their stuff in the playoffs. On the opening weekend, four players age 22 or under scored 30 or more points: the Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey (38 points), the Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards (36), the Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant (32) and the Golden State Warriors’ Jordan Poole (30).

Meanwhile, the Miami Heat’s Duncan Robinson hit 8 of 9 3-point attempts in an opening win over the Atlanta Hawks, and the New Orleans Pelicans’ Jonas Valančiūnas pulled down 25 rebounds in a loss to the Phoenix Suns. Of those six players, only Morant can be labeled a superstar.

James may be the best player of his era, but the NBA doesn’t need him to provide us with an entertaining product.

3. ABC/ESPN won’t get that Lakers-Nets NBA Finals it craved.

So the Disney-owned networks probably are hoping for the next best thing: a Warriors-Nets Finals. The first-round matchup between the Nets and Celtics already has the feel of a Finals, aided by Jayson Tatum’s buzzer-beating spin move that beat the Nets in Game 1. It’s a moment that will be replayed for years to come and a perfect start for a highly anticipated series that could go seven games.

Why would Disney want want the Nets and Warriors? Because unlike Major League Baseball, the NBA knows how to market its superstars. Irving and Kevin Durant facing Durant’s former team — featuring Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green — would be a matchup made in sports heaven.

The Heat are the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference but don’t drive the ratings needle. The Suns are the league’s most dominant team, but last summer’s Suns-Milwaukee Bucks Finals didn’t do much for ratings.

4. The Play-In Tournament probably is here to stay — and that’s good news.

Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this month the league believes the idea has worked out well.

“What we’re seeing is a far greater impact essentially on the last month of the season where teams are either jockeying to get into the Play-In Tournament itself or jockeying to get out of the Play-In Tournament with a locked-in sixth seed,” he said. “We’re pleased with it. There may be a need to tweak it additionally. We’ll see how it goes this year, but I think it’s going to become a fixture in this league.”

One tweak I’d like to see is playing all four opening play-in games on one day instead of two, with the second games (the losers of the 7-8 games versus the winners of the 9-10 games) played the next day. Game 1 of every playoff series could then start on Thursday or Friday instead of waiting until Saturday and Sunday.

Bulls star DeMar DeRozan wondered aloud about his poor shooting in Game 1 on Sunday, saying: “I don’t know what the hell was going on. Probably a week off.” Not to excuse DeRozan’s off night, but players get into a rhythm and don’t need a week off after the season ends.

5. A reality show in the making?

One of the more endearing moments of the weekend was the good-natured trash-talking Saturday between Tee Morant, the father of Ja, and Karl Towns, the father of Karl-Anthony Towns, during the Grizzlies-Timberwolves opener.

Ja Morant had been asked last week about Beverley’s trash-talking tendencies and replied: “We ain’t ducking no smoke. We run up the chimney. It’s simple as that. Ain’t no conversations about not letting nobody get under your skin. Somebody come towards you, can’t back down. That’s a soft person tendency. We don’t got no soft guys over here.”

Near the end of the Wolves’ win, ESPN noted the two dads had been trading jabs from nearby seats. Then they got up, walked toward each other and hugged on the sideline, almost as if on cue. Afterward, Tee Morant walked up to an ESPN camera and said: “No smoke. We ain’t ducking no smoke. Memphis, Memphis, Memphis!”

Hopefully it’s not the last we see of these two dads. The NBA needs them.

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