The Eastern Conference gets started in 2012-13 right where it left off. Both the Miami Herald and South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Monday night that Miami will begin its title defense on Oct. 30 against the Celtics in a game that’s all but billed as Ray Allen‘s Reunion. As for other marquee games on the Heat’s schedule — some dates could change because teams are still approving a preliminary schedule — include a Madison Square Garden prime time bout against the Knicks on Nov. 2 and a Christmas Day game with Oklahoma City.
The Boston-Miami game is set for 8 p.m. ET on TNT. Other highlights of the Heat’s schedule is a Valentine’s Day trip to Oklahoma City to close that regular-season series, Jan. 17 (away) and Feb. 10 (home) games against the Lakers, and a Jan. 30 trip to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Remember when Boston’s loss to Miami in last season’s Eastern Conference Finals began an avalanche of “The Celtics That Were” collections about the era that was ending? After Kevin Garnett and Brandon Bass re-signed, this matchup will look much like last year. The plot twist that didn’t fall in line with the band-is-back-together storyline is of course Allen, who makes his Heat debut on opening night, which now doubles as a faceoff against the Celtics. He’ll watch the Heat get their title rings before the game, then begin a season where he guns for his first.
Now, do I wish Miami would face Oklahoma City or the Lakers earlier? Who wouldn’t? But this arrangement allows for a next wave of storylines to get pumped out by late December, after the new-season smell has worn off (and football begins to wane in the public eye). Presumably, the top contenders will spend the first seven weeks sharpening their game so that when the Finals rematch rolls around, the NBA ensures it won’t be cheapened by any “it’s still early” talk.
What do you think of the opening night game?
Follow Andrew on Twitter at @AndrewGreif.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
