UPDATED: 8:26 p.m.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- LeBron James will be back at The Q before Christmas.

The entire NBA schedule is not expected to be released until next week, but The Plain Dealer has learned that James and the Miami Heat will visit the Cavs for the first time on Dec. 2. The Thursday night game is expected to be nationally televised by TNT.

The Heat are scheduled to make their second visit to Cleveland on March 29, sources said. The Cavs will face the Heat in Miami on Dec. 15 and Jan. 31.

Sources said the Cavs will open the season against the Boston Celtics for a third consecutive year. That game is scheduled for Oct. 27 at The Q. The night before, on Oct. 26, the league announced on Tuesday that the Celtics will host the Heat to kick off the season.

The two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers are scheduled to make their only visit to Cleveland on Feb. 16, which is the final game for both teams before the All-Star break.

Other than those games, though, the Cavs schedule is expected to be mostly devoid of the major made-for-television matchups they had for years with James on the team. The league announced 20 top games for opening night and holidays on Tuesday and the Cavs were not mentioned. Last season the Cavs were on national television more than 35 times.

For the first time in three years, the Cavs will not play on Christmas Day and they are not expected to be a part of the lineup on Thanksgiving or Martin Luther King Day. The Heat's first match up with the Lakers in Los Angeles will be the featured Christmas game.

As for the holidays, the Cavs will play the Orlando Magic the day after Thanksgiving on the road. The Cavs are expected to play on New Year's Day in Chicago against the Bulls.

During the opening week of the season the Cavs are also expected to play the Toronto Raptors, Atlanta Hawks and Sacramento Kings.

The team's longest road trip is scheduled, as usual, for mid-January, when they will embark on a trip to Golden State, Phoenix, the Los Angeles Lakers, Utah and Denver.

Shaq to Celtics? Shaquille O'Neal's return to Cleveland could come much sooner than James'. There were numerous reports on Tuesday that O'Neal was close to agreeing to a contract with the Celtics.

The Cavs still have O'Neal's rights and have been interested in working out a sign-and-trade deal over the last month. However, sources indicated Tuesday that the Cavs and Celtics are not involved in sign-and-trade talks. So if O'Neal agrees to a deal with Boston, it will most likely be for the $1.4 million veteran's minimum contract and a reserve role off the bench.

O'Neal made $20 million from the Cavs last season and was seeking a two-year deal worth at least $10 million but found no takers even with the Cavs willing to take part in a sign-and-trade. The Hawks were the other team seriously considering signing O'Neal.

He averaged 12 points and 6.7 rebounds on 57 percent shooting in 53 games with the Cavs last season.