It will be party time at the TD Garden in the early hours of Wednesday morning when the Boston Celtics raise banner No.18 following last season's NBA triumph.
Fans will rise to salute Joe Mazzulla and his team of superstars just four months after they capped a brilliant campaign by beating Dallas 4-1 to claim the championship.
Meanwhile, quietly trying to drown out the noise, will be the New York Knicks, who would dearly love to gatecrash the party and may just get their wish.
New York Knicks Money Line - 37/20
The 2024/25 NBA season tips off with the championship-winning Celtics against their divisional rival Knicks.
Boston went 64-18 last season before dropping just three games in four play-off series culminating in their 4-1 win over Dallas for glory.
New York were 14 games behind and lost their Eastern Conference semi against Indiana in seven.
The Celtics beat the Knicks 4-1 over the campaign though Tom Thibodeau's men did win the most recent meeting, at the TD Garden, in April, a 118-109 triumph on the back of 39 points from Jalen Brunson.
Boston are 5.5-point favourites and go into the game with all the usual suspects in attendance - minus Kristaps Porzingis, who is still injured - and head coach Joe Mazzulla just hoping they are all focused.
One thing that looks beyond question is that the Knicks are going to be better than last season with mid-season recruit OG Anunoby now fully au fait with a set-up also featuring All-Star recruit Karl-Anthony Towns.
Towns and Brunson could be a marriage made in heaven and you know the meticulous Thibodeau will have them drilled to perfection.
And we know they can do it. Boston didn't lose many last term but they were beaten up badly, outrebounded and outscored, by the Knicks in April, whose appetite was beyond dispute.
Boston have looked good in pre-season but this might just be a good time to play them. And certainly the improved Knicks look a generous moneyline play at 37/20.
Sam Hauser Over 6.5 Points - 20/23
The Celtics have a fabulous starting five to lean on but there is real pedigree off the bench, among them small forward Sam Hauser.
Hauser made NBA history in March when he went 10-for-13 from three-point range in under 23 minutes on the floor against the Wizards.
He's a streaky player who averaged 9 points last season playing 22 minutes a game and is averaging just under six three-point attempts per outing.
The 26-year-old won't need to connect too often to clear 6.5 points, and we've seen he is more than capable.
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Money Line | Spread | Over/Under | |
Celtics | 4/9 | -5.5 – 10/11 | Under 224.0 – 10/11 |
Knicks | 37/20 | +5.5 – 10/11 | Over 224.0 - 10/11 |
OG Anunoby Over 4.5 Rebounds - 4/5
Signed last December, OG Anunoby might not be a new signing at Madison Square Garden, but having only taken his tracksuit off nine times in Knicks' colors, he sure feels like one.
Anunoby's only appearance against Boston was in that 118-109 win for the New Yorkers in April when the Knicks won the rebound battle 52-36.
Anunoby played his part with five rebounds and the starter should expect to match that at least on night one.
He averages 4.8 rebounds per game and has averaged 6 rebounds or more during two of his four play-off campaigns, including last season.
That says the UK-born forward is finding his place, getting better and can stamp a mark on big games. And the world champions on the road in the season curtain-raiser definitely constitutes a big game.
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