Tip-off: Tuesday, 12:00 p.m. ET
Line: Brooklyn -4.5, Total: 189

Boston will visit Brooklyn at the Barclays Center in this year's opening game on Christmas Day.

The Celtics have been struggling lately. They’ve lost four of their past five games with their one win coming against the lowly Cavaliers. The Nets haven’t been much better, but they have won two of their past five games. The matchup to watch in this one is the battle of the point guards. Deron Williams and Rajon Rondo will both need to set the tone for their teams early on Christmas Day.

Which NBA Atlantic Division squad will give its fans a Christmas Day victory? For the answer, connect to NBA Best Bets for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2012-13 season. The experts have sizzled since Saturday with a collective 9-2 ATS mark. The experts are 63% ATS (19-11) since Dec. 19 and are 52% ATS (163-151-10) on Best Bets for the season. StatFox Gary is 55.4% ATS (31-25-3) Best Bets for the year, while StatFox Scott is at 54.4% ATS (37-31) Best Bets for the season and StatFox Brian is at 51.3% ATS (40-38-3) after going 8-5 ATS (62%) since Dec. 14. For NBA Totals, Scott is 42-25 (63%) for the season.

The Celtics have lost four of their past five games and are now only a .500 basketball team. Over the past five games, PG Rajon Rondo has not been taking care of the basketball. He is averaging only 9.8 APG compared to his season average of 12.2 APG and has turned the ball over 4.6 times per game in that span. The Celtics are also going to need more out of PF Kevin Garnett. Garnett has averaged a mere 6.4 RPG in the past five games, and as the leading rebounder for Boston, he’ll need to improve in that area.

The Nets have gone through struggles of their own after a hot start to the season. After losing three of their past five games, they need to get things back on track. PG Deron Williams is starting to find his stroke as he is shooting 44.6% from the field over the past five games compared to 39.7% from the field on the season. SG Joe Johnson is also starting to come into his own as he’s turned in three performances with 20 or more points in Brooklyn’s past five games. The season turned when C Brook Lopez went down with an injury, so perhaps this team is now getting acclimated to his return to the lineup.