Cavs, Pistons have reason to wonder about NBA’s Christmas guest list

The NBA released its Christmas Day schedule Tuesday, and as usual, the league went heavy on stars, recognizable brands and made-for-TV storylines. Nobody should be surprised.

The five-game slate:

• Spurs at Knicks, noon
• Heat at Celtics, 2:30 p.m.
• 76ers at Lakers, 5 p.m.
• Thunder at Timberwolves, 8 p.m.
• Nuggets at Warriors, 10:30 p.m.

There’s plenty to like. Spurs-Knicks gives us a rematch of the NBA Finals. Giannis Antetokounmpo and the new-look Heat visit Jayson Tatum and Boston. LeBron James returns to Los Angeles with the Sixers.

That one probably could’ve been written in ink about 10 minutes after James signed with Philadelphia.

Still, you can make a pretty good argument that the Pistons and Cavaliers deserved invitations to the NBA’s annual Christmas party.

Detroit won 60 games last season. Cade Cunningham has become one of the league’s premier players. The Pistons aren’t some cute rebuilding story anymore. They’re contenders.

Cleveland reached the Eastern Conference finals and returns Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. The Cavs have been among the East’s best teams for two straight seasons. Yet neither made the cut.

The Rockets have a case, too. Kevin Durant on Christmas generally qualifies as pretty good television.

Instead, the NBA kept Golden State in its traditional Christmas slot despite the Warriors winning 37 games and potentially being without Jimmy Butler. But come on. It’s Stephen Curry. The Warriors have played on Christmas for 13 straight years. The league wasn’t suddenly going to tell Curry to spend the afternoon assembling toys.

So this isn’t really about fairness. Christmas Day never is. It’s about stars, ratings, rivalries and stories casual fans immediately understand.

By that standard, the NBA did fine. Just don’t tell the Pistons or Cavs that Christmas invitations are handed out entirely on merit.