basketball

The Los Angeles Clippers have rediscovered their mojo since the multi-player trade that sent power forward Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons. The Clippers are 8-3 in their last 11 games, and are 4-2 on their current road trip. But they are just 1-2 on this trip against teams currently holding playoff spots, and Tuesday's opponent, the Denver Nuggets, fall into that category as eight seed in the West.

The Boston Celtics made their first appearance at Little Caesars Arena earlier this season and picked up right where they left off, whipping the Detroit Pistons 91-81. The Celtics have won three of four and five of seven from the Pistons, and are especially successful in Detroit. Boston has won four straight in the Motor City. The Pistons haven't vanquished the Celtics on their home court since Dec. 16, 2015.

Launched in 2003 as part of NBA All-Star weekend, the NBA Celebrity Game has proven to be one of the most popular events during this celebration of basketball, bringing to the hardwood actors, comedians, singers and athletes from other skills to showcase their roundball skills. Pehaps the most surprising aspect of the game isn't how many stars have game, but how many Canadian celebs there are who can ball.

They will be playing the game at the Staples Center, but they will be playing it like they were on the playground. Defense be damned, the NBA All-Star Game is all about putting on a show. It will be a day filled with long-range threes, spectacular dunks, no-look passes and wonderful ball handling. So who are you betting, Team LeBron or Team Stephen? It's time to make that call.

No contender needed a shakeup more than the moribund Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Cavaliers definitely got shook up, surrounding LeBron James with a new cast of characters, bringing in four new faces and jettisoning five players from the roster. One of them, Dwayne Wade, returned to Miami and will make his reappearance for the Heat against Milwaukee. Meanwhile, the Detroit Pistons and L.A. Clippers clash just days after making a six-player blockbuster.

With the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline fast approaching, teams must determine quickly whether they are buyers, sellers, or that they are satisfied with the chemistry of their club and find no reason to alter the team. But deadline deals can create a domino effect. The Detroit Pistons are 4-0 since acquiring Blake Griffin, which may cause other teams on the Eastern playoff bubble to make a counter move.

Two games behind the Boston Celtics, if the Toronto Raptors don't beat Boston at home, hopes of winning the East grow dim. We like this tilt as part of a four-game NBA parlay on Tuesday that also sees Milwaukee and New York square off for the second time in five days, and two rivalry games, as Golden State goes up against Oklahoma City, while Philadelphia tangles with Washington.

Continuing to embolden their global initiative, the NBA will contest its eighth game in London, England since 2011 as the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics get set to do battle. But more than a marketing ploy and a chance to sell NBA products overseas, there's significant implications to this game. Both teams are enjoying very solid seasons and carried lengthy winning streaks with them as they crossed the pond.