In case the opening of the NBA regular season did not come with enough fanfare the NBA schedule makers have aligned two publicity machines, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics, to collide Tuesday night at Boston at 7:30 p.m. ET in a game that may be even more highly anticipated than LeBron James unfortunate one-hour ESPN special “The Decision.”

The game marks the first meaningful game for the unit of James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Celtics have plenty of star power too, albeit aging star power, with Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jermaine O’Neal all playing with point guard Rajon Rondo, who appears ready to break through to stardom this season.

Rondo gives Boston a big advantage in comparison to Miami point guard Mario Chalmers. Distribution of shots has been a hot-topic issue around South Beach as three megastars will have to find a way to share the spotlight and with an inexperienced point guard like Chalmers, that may become even more of an issue.

The outcome of this game could almost be considered secondary. Everyone around the NBA is eager to see how the Miami experiment will work and Boston, with their tenacious defense, will serve as a great test.

Boston will be without Kendrick Perkins. His torn ACL potentially cost Boston a chance at another NBA title last season. However, the Celtics have reinforcements at center behind Jermaine O’Neal in the form of another O’Neal - Shaq. You know a game is a big deal when a Shaquille O’Neal vs. Dwyane Wade reunion is only about the 15th biggest storyline.

Miami Heat at Boston Celtics Betting Odds and Line Moves
The point spread for the highly anticipated showdown has been posted for the last few months and in that time Boston went from a slight one-point favorite to a one-point underdog. The total has slowly crept down from 194.5 to 192.5.

Miami Heat at Boston Celtics Trends
‘Under’ is 4-0 in Celtics last four home games
Favorite is 12-3 ATS in the last 15 meetings
Home team is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings
Boston is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings

NBA Prediction and Picks: Miami Heat at Boston Celtics
The opening week of any season is always the most difficult time to try and break down games and analyze how teams are going to play together this year. Considering Miami is trying something that has never been done before in forming a ‘dream team,’ the variables in this equation are endless. There is one thing you can bank on though, that is the intensity of a veteran Boston team playing in front of its home crowd and the defense the Celtics play. Bank on a known commodity, the Boston Celtics, take the Celtics plus the point.

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