Ray Allen won't have much time to mentally prepare for seeing Kevin Garnett bark in his face, Paul Pierce step back and fire away, or Rajon Rondo blow past him.
The newly signed Allen and the Miami Heat will host the Boston Celtics on October 30, the first game of the season, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
Allen, who elected to join the defending champion Heat for less money than return to the Celtics, will be put in an uncomfortable position from the start: His current teammates will receive rings that he didn't win with them, while his former teammates (that oh-by-the-way lost to the Heat) stand on the opposite end of the court and watch it all go down.
It's not the first former team that Allen has played against, but you can bet that having won a championship with the Celtics and choosing his own departure makes it a little different.
Of course the Celtics will have new players of their own readying for the season-opener, including two players brought on that ease the pain of Allen's departure: Jason Terry and Courtney Lee.
The C's don't need any added motivation to win the first game of the season, but playing it against the defending champs and their best offseason acquisition will add plenty of the fuel to the fire.