No Christmas cheer for Heat, idle Dec. 25 for first time since 2008; only one Wade visit: For the first time since 2008, the Miami Heat will not be featured on the NBA's Christmas Day showcase of games. According to the preliminary 2016-17 NBA schedule being circulated among teams and broadcast partners, one that still is subject to change before the final release next week, the Heat will have Dec. 25 off amid their rebuild that has included the loss of guard Dwyane Wade to the Chicago Bulls in free agency. -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Offseason goal for Heat is proving they have a shot: Amid the conjecture about where the Miami Heat stand in the wake of Dwyane Wade's free-agency shift to the Chicago Bulls, the team's players won't accept the notion that they don't have a shot. Especially that notion. Because for all the doubts about the outside shooting that coach Erik Spoelstra will have at his disposal, the work this offseason has been relentless at AmericanAirlines Arena, amid the hope that players such as Justise Winslow, Dion Waiters and Briante Weber can take the type of strides previously achieved by Josh Richardson and Tyler Johnson. -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel