While NCAA basketball odds and NHL Trade Deadline Day are the key topic of the moment, it is also a big week in the NBA. The NBA playoff race if heating up with every game counting for critical points in the standings. Tuesday night features several top match ups across the National Basketball Association. Here is a game preview for the Boston Celtics versus the Detroit Pistons. 

Boston Celtics at Detroit Pistons

Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 7:30PM (ET) 

Two Eastern Conference rivals meet Tuesday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit. Once two of the top teams in the NBA, the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons are now fighting just to stay alive in the Eastern Conference. While the Detroit Pistons might be out of the playoff race, they are still a dangerous team and can play the role of spoiler heading down the stretch for teams like Boston. Regardless of the standings, it is always an exciting game when these two franchises meet. Both teams are riding losing streaks entering Tuesday’s game, so anything is possible.

Shaquille O'Neal, the Cleveland Cavaliers, will undergo a surgery and will probably miss the rest of the regular season in the NBA Betting.

O'Neal, who will turn 38 in five days, suffered a sprained thumb on his right hand in game against the Boston Celtics on Thursday.

Dr. Thomas Graham, the Hand Center at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, will be responsible for the surgery of O'Neal, who according to previous estimates will be off the court during a period of six to eight weeks .

Acquired by the Cavaliers last summer, O'Neal joined the franchise with an eye toward the NBA betting playoffs last year as Cleveland was eliminated by the Orlando Magic to have as a "big man" under the boards to Dwight Howard.