Celtics top Heat, 88-80, in opener

Rajon Rondo dished out 17 assists in Boston's season-opening victory over the new-look Heat. (Getty Images)

Here’s my message to everyone, everywhere: Settle down. Boston fans — and Heat haters — are going to crow things like, “So I guess the Heat aren’t invincible, huh?” Or: “Remember who the defending Eastern Conference champs are.”


Fine. All fair. The Celtics beat the Heat in the first game of the season. And you can take some lessons from this game. The Celtics still have a ferocious defense, they can still force a bunch of turnovers and if you spend much of the game running a basic pick-and-roll, they can shut you down. Shaq can help the Celtics on offense, and Marquis Daniels looks ready to have a nice season if he can stay healthy.
But this is still the first game of the season. The Heat are still learning, the players are learning each other and the coaching staff is learning how best to use them. And they are learning all of this after one of their three stars missed the entire preseason. All those shots that James Jones (2-of-7) took? Those are Mike Miller’s shots starting in the new year.
(Side note: Bodog.com set the over/under on the Heat’s lowest single-game point total at 82.5. I emphatically suggested you take the over. So, yeah).


So go easy on the burying of the Heat and shoving them down into the second tier. Or, put another way: Enjoy crowing tonight and tomorrow, because this loss doesn’t really change the big picture.
End, 4th: And there’s your final, as the C’s win, 88-80. The Heat aren’t going to win many games when Wade and Bosh shoot a combined 7-of-27 and the team turns it over 17 times.