The Miami Heat get LeBron James for Christmas!

That would be an even better gift if he were wearing their uniform.

James, of course, now plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Heat and Cavs will play four times during the NBA’s regular season, the first being on Dec. 25 in Miami. But they meet Saturday in an exhibition game in Rio de Janeiro, so let the fun begin.

It’s not as if LeBron went into hiding and shunned his former teammates, even if his sudden departure in free agency sent the Heat into a somewhat unexpected early rebuilding phase. James was a guest at Dwyane Wade’s recent wedding and he stays in touch with Udonis Haslem. The only player who truly seems put out by James’ exit is Chris Bosh, who’s desperate re-signing by the Heat profited him greatly.

Players know the game is a business. They follow their hearts or they follow the money and sometimes – as James did – both. In returning to his native Ohio and his first pro team, he can heal the deep wounds caused by his departure for the Heat in 2010.

Maybe this exhibition will calm some of the burgeoning hysteria that will dog every Cavs-Heat game. When did an NBA preseason game get this sort of attention in the past?

“Everybody’s going to hype it up and it’s going to be a big deal,” Bosh told the Associated Press. “But for us, it’s just another opportunity to get better. We know everything that’s surrounding the situation and it is what it is. As far as we’re concerned, this is our team, this is what we’re trying to build toward, the past is the past, we’re moving on and it’s good to get this out of the way.”

Hmm. Somebody already has his game face on.