The Boston Celtics Try To Ruin Ring Night in Miami as the NBA Season Tips Off (UPDATE)

The NBA is good about not overcrowding the opening night schedule, and they're also good at starting the season off with good games. Well, two out of three ain't bad. Washington at Cleveland gets things going tonight, but shockingly that's not one of the doubleheader games on TNT. Weird!

Miami hosts Boston and the Heat players will be presented with their championship rings in a ceremony before the game, as is tradition in the NBA. The interesting side note is Ray Allen playing his first game for Miami after bolting Boston. The Heat are widely expected to get back to the Finals to try to win back-to-back titles, but Boston is still good. Of course, this is the NBA and things don't really get into high gear until around Christmas, but this is a great way to start.

The second half of the double header has Dallas traveling to Los Angeles to take on the new look Lakers, but that new look might not include Kobe Bryant. Bryant has missed the last week with a foot injury, and it's easy to think that Kobe would play, but he might not want to rush back for a basically meaningless game. Still, I'd say he at least starts the game, but if he's not feeling it, then he'll shut it down early.

Dwight Howard and Steve Nash make their official Laker debuts, but if Kobe isn't in there, it's going to tough to gauge how their chemistry will be.

Update: Just as I figured, Kobe expects to play.