NBA’s annual Christmas slate awaits, and teams insist it’s still special to be picked

MIAMI — Erik Spoelstra was part of 12 Christmas games as a staff member, assistant coach or head coach in his first 20 seasons with the Miami Heat. And in the eight seasons that followed, the Heat played on Christmas only once. Advertisement Here’s what he realized: For an NBA team, playing on Christmas beats not playing on Christmas. The Heat return to the league’s holiday slate for the first time since 2020 on Monday, when they play host to the Philadelphia 76ers as part of the NBA’s traditional Christmas quintuple header. Advertisement The other games: Milwaukee at New York, Golden State visits defending champion Denver, Boston visits the Los Angeles Lakers in the rekindling of the NBA’s greatest all-time…