When/where: 7:30 p.m.; TD Garden, Boston.
TV: TNT
The series: Celtics lead all-time series 52-35.

The Miami Heat have been vilified. Praised. Misunderstood. Understood all too well. Feted. Hated. You name it. And now it comes down to this: actual basketball.

The Heat start their regular season on the road tonight in Boston, as hostile an environment as anyone who just shook up the sporting world could ask for. The Big Three haven't played more than three minutes together in a game, thanks to Dwyane Wade's hammy injury in their first pre-season game, but Wade, LeBron James, and Chris Bosh aren't going to be cut any slack under the microscope now trained on the Heat at all times.

That, of course, is what's going to make this season so fun -- and it's no coincidence the Heat are kicking things off against the reigning Eastern Conference Champs, the Celtics.

"It's an ideal game for Boston, for the Heat, for NBA and for the fans of the NBA,'' Wade said. "This is the ideal game to start the season off with, and even though this game doesn't determine what's going to happen in the whole season...it's a good measuring stick for both teams."

Last season: 47-35, lost to Boston in first round of playoffs

Out: Quentin Richardson, Michael Beasley, Dorrell Wright, Jermain O'Neal, Yakhouba Diawara, Daequan Cook

Kept: Mario Chalmers, Joel Anthony, James Jones, Jamaal Magliore, Carlos Arroyo, Dwyane Wade

New: LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Mike Miller, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Eddie House, Dexter Pittman, Juwan Howard, and Jerry Stackhouse

Prospects: 17 out of ESPN's 25 experts pick the Heat to win the East

Aspirations: to beat the 95-95 Chicago Bulls, who went 72-10 and set a new record for single-season wins

Challengers: Orlando, Boston, Los Angeles

Possible Pitfalls: Injuries, and Eric Spoelstra, who may not yet be a coach who can make his team greater than the sum of its parts

Most Thrilling News Of the Offseason: Carlos Arroyo is related to Benicio Del Toro

Can the Heat live up to their insanely high expectations? In a word, yes. The deep shooting ability of Miller, Jones and House will be key as double teams on the Big Three free up the corners, and while the Heat don't have the size of their bitchy neighbors in Orlando, they have speed and athleticism in spades.

They will run into trouble when facing speedy point guards and big centers, and thanks to injuries missed a chance to mesh on the court when the games don't count. But the Heat are the clear favorites to win an NBA title, and they should be running full-strength just when it's time to hit the playoffs.

Strap in, Miami -- and show up on time, will you? 

Watch the Heat's home opener Friday with NBCMiami! We're taking over STK Miami and Rooftop at Gansevoort Miami Beach. Click here for details and to RSVP.