Unwanted gift: Heat stay home for NBA’s holiday showcase

Lacking star power, Miami isn’t part of today’s big TV lineup.

MIAMI — The Miami Heat no longer have the star power to warrant a Christmas Day spot on the NBA schedule.

After seven consecutive sea- sons of being as much a part of Christmas programming as the Hallmark Channel, the Heat will wake up today in their own homes and spend the entire day with their families. But is that a good thing? The Heat fifirst appeared on the NBA’s Christmas Day wish list in 1997, playing in Chicago as the league highlighted the budding Heat-Bulls rivalry. Including that game, Miami is 10-2 (.833) on Christmas, the best winning percentage in the league. Portland is next at 14-3 (.824).

“You want all your games to have significance,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “When you play on Christmas you really feel the signifificance of it.”

The Heat had played on Christmas Day 11 of the past 12 years, each of those with Dwyane Wade guiding the sleigh, six with Chris Bosh wearing a red suit and four with LeBron James having a jolly good time.

T h e He a t h ave won s e ve n straight, but that was not enough for the league to invite them back, not with Wade in Chicago, Bosh sitting out the season and James in his third year back in Cleveland. Miami (10-21) has the thirdworst record in the Eastern Conference after Friday’s loss in New Orleans.

“That’s how this team is per- ceived,” said Spoelstra, admitting the Heat no longer is mustsee TV. “But that’s not how we’re going to treat the rest of the year.”

The benefit: “We’re all able to have family come in. ... celebrate with loved ones,” Spoelstra said. “I don’t even remember what that was like.”

Wade will be playing on Christmas for the 12th time in his 14 sea-