By: Stephen Patterson
Oct. 26 - Miami @ Boston: This game is one of the most anticipated openers in recent memory and will certainly have a lot of attention surrounding it. It will be will be the first game that the new "Miami Thrice" will play together since signing LeBron James and Chris Bosh to play alongside Dwyane Wade, who re-signed with the team.
The Heat have done an excellent job of surrounding their version of the "Big Three", adding players such as Mike Miller, Juwan Howard, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, and Eddie House to play along with them. Many experts think this team has the potential to be very special, but opinions widely vary on whether or not they will begin that greatness this season. While I'm not sure I'd agree with Jeff Van Gundy that they will bring the NBA records of 72 wins in a season and a 33 game win streak, I can see where he is coming from. This team will be great this season, and they will look to display that in the opener.
While their acquisitions this offseason may not have been as big a splash as signing LeBron or Bosh, the Celtics have had one of the best overall offseasons of any team in the NBA. While they made the expected moves of re-signing Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, the team also went out and signed a pair of former All-Star O'Neals, Jermaine and Shaquille. Both additions will no doubt help bolster their backcourt during the postseason, but it will also help soften the blow of Kendrick Perkin's knee injury, which will keep him out possibly until around the All-Star break, and the somewhat sudden retirement of Rasheed Wallace.
Expect these two teams to look to establish a dominance of the Eastern Conference right out of the gates with an excellent game.
Oct. 29 - Orlando @ Miami: This will be the Heat's first home game since landing their new superstar Big Three, and it will also be the first game of the the newly rekindled instate rivalry.
Orlando hasn't really made any major moves this offseason, but they also didn't downgrade much with the exception of Matt Barnes leaving to join the Los Angeles Lakers. Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy are already tired of all of the hype surrounding the Heat, so expect them to play an extremely hard fought game in Miami. While Orlando has had a strong hold on the division over the past three seasons, they will have a hard time keeping the streak of dominance alive this season.
Look for this to be a very toughly contested match-up with a lot of fouls. The crowd will be fired up seeing LeBron in a Heat uniform for the first team, therefore I expect the Heat to narrowly pull out the victory here to appease the support of their fans.
Dec. 2 - Miami @ Cleveland: This will be the first time LeBron James returns to his native state of Ohio to play his former team since leaving for the Miami Heat last month. You can definitely expect the crowd to be fired up for this game, and barring some kind of miracle gesture by LeBron towards the city, a lot of angry people to be there.
Formers fans of James literally went to the streets in anger when he made his infamous "Decision", and burned merchandise of their former hero. Dan Gilbert sent out one of the most incendiary letters in professional sports history to fans, completely trashing his former cash cow. While I can understand while fans and Gilbert were hurt by how LeBron handled his situation, he did what was best for him and his family. No one can fault him for that. And while Gilbert guaranteed a title before the Heat in his letter, he has done very little to add pieces to accomplish that. If you couldn't win with LeBron seven times, do you really think Ramon Sessions is going to change your fortunes? Good luck.
I expect this game to be a blowout for the Heat, and if fans don't start littering the bench with trash, I expect the Big Three to be out of the game well before the final buzzer. If the Cavaliers can keep it close, or somehow steal a win, I will be extremely surprised.
Dec. 25 - Miami @ LA Lakers: This will be the first match-up between the two favorites to reach the NBA Fianls this season, and the NBA put it in the biggest spotlight of the season.
These two teams could potentially be one of the greatest rivalries in the NBA since the Lakers and Celtics in the 80's. They match-up almost perfectly for each other. Kobe Bryant will be going up against Dwyane Wade in avery high scoring match-up. LeBron James will be contested by Ron Artest, who will look to lockdown the star. Chris Bosh and Pau Gasol are two of the best big men in the NBA right now and will certainly be entertaining to watch in the post.
It's really hard to make a pick here because both teams will be really stacked, and while I want to pull for the Heat here, I think the defending champs will pull out the win on their home floor setting the tone for the future match-ups between these two mega-teams. The Lakers bench is a little stronger than Miami's currently, so it will take monster games from their Big Three to beat the Lakers this season.
