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Kingston, Jamaica - Jamaica has recruited the services of Los Angeles Clippers centre Ryan Hollins for this year’s Federation of International Basketball Associations (FIBA) World Championships. “We have confirmed that he is Jamaican and his agent Todd Ramsarar has told us that it is okay for him to represent Jamaica,” said Ajani Williams, president of the Jamaica basketball Association (JBA). “We are now moving forward with his paperwork in terms of registration for the championships....

The Orioles’ Adam Jones answered it, pretty bluntly. The next question, though, is not only not far from being asked, but everybody should know the answer. MORE: N.C. sports fans pay the price for HB2 Count on it — the NBA season is coming, and those players are not going to be quiet. Think the NFL players are conflicted about whether to speak up, how to speak up, if they get to act individually or make some kind of compromise (hello, Seahawks and Chiefs)?...

The team announced Friday that Gasol’s surgery was successful, but the recovery time will force him to miss the Eastern Conference finals. However, Gasol is expected to be ready to go for training camp. Gasol, 38, has been dealing with a stress fracture in his foot all season. He made only six starts during the regular season, playing in 27 games for the Spurs before signing with the Bucks in March....

The two-time MVP scored 17 points on 7-of-23 shooting in Golden State’s 126-121 loss to the Rockets, but that only tells part of the story. Curry was awful down the stretch going 0 for 6 from the floor in the fourth quarter and overtime while tallying four fouls and a turnover. What’s worse though, in a time while Kevin Durant was fantastic — he scored 46 points on the night including a stretch to start the fourth quarter in which he erased a four-point deficit on his own with 10 straight points — Curry was minus-6 in the final 17 minutes of the game....

At the moment, the Brooklyn Nets(40-20) are placed atop the NBA Eastern Conference standings, with the Philadelphia 76ers following close behind with a 39-22 record. Both teams, along with the Milwaukee Bucks, are virtually guaranteed playoff seeds. On that note, let’s predict the top eight seeds for the 2021 NBA playoffs in the Eastern Conference. NBA Playoffs 2021: Predictions for the top 8 seeds from the Eastern Conference The NBA Eastern Conference is traditionally considered as the easier of the two conferences....

Bulls-Wizards RECAP: Bradley Beal came on strong late in regulation to finish with 26 points, Nene scored six of his 17 in overtime and the Washington Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls 101-99 Tuesday to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round series. Washington rallied from 10 down in the fourth quarter after blowing a 17-point first-quarter lead. 11:25 pm: The Bulls pulled away from the Wizards for a 75-70 lead when they contained John Wall and created offense through defense....

No. 2 Heat vs. No. 6 Nets DeAntae’s take The Brooklyn Nets completed a regular season sweep of the Miami Heat. And while that can't be completely dismissed, it's hard to imagine the Nets as having an upper hand on the Heat. In fact, it's impossible to imagine. You see, the Miami Heat have LeBron James. He did play against a Charlotte Bobcats with little to defend against his otherwordly talents, but James still led the league in scoring during the first round at 30....

Derrick Rose put the Bulls on his back in a gutty 99-96 win over LeBron James and the Cavaliers, capped by his dramatic buzzer-beating banked 3-pointer to win the game. MORE: Noah, Barnes fined | LINEMAKERS: Saturday’s take | PHOTOS: Second-round gallery James Harden’s playoff woes continued in the Rockets’ embarrassing 124-99 loss to the Clippers. He scored 25 points and dished out 11 assists but failed to make an impact on the defensive end of the court and was forced to watch his team fall behind in the series....

Players in the power forward position do not just score, rebound and fill the lanes in transition. Today, power forwards can also handle the ball, shoot from the three-point line and also guard the other team’s best perimeter player. NBA Power Rankings: Top 5 active power forwards in the league The power forward position features a bevy of top players. On that note, let us have a look at the top 5 power forwards in the NBA right now....

#3 Danilo Gallinari At 30, Danilo Gallinari is playing the best basketball of his career. The Italian has become a key man in LA since his trade from Nuggets two-years ago, and over the course of the 18/19 season, Gallinari averaged 19.8 points and 6.1 rebounds. However, despite his impressive performances, the LA Times is reporting that the power forward is likely to leave this summer: If Gallinari is made available for trade, he will immediately become one of the most in-demand wings in the league, and teams such as the OKC Thunder are possible destinations....

Though Boston is set to take part in the augural NBA play-in tournament against the Wizards on Tuesday night, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Stevens’ job is not in jeopardy. No matter what happens to the Celtics in the postseason, Stevens is expected to be back with the team. “Brad Stevens is going to be back,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN’s “Get Up” Tuesday afternoon. “The idea that his job might be in jeopardy is just not accurate....

These are the key games this week in the NBA, along with the full schedule (all times Eastern). Cleveland Cavaliers at Boston Celtics, 8 p.m. ESPN Wednesday, Jan. 3, at 8 p.m. on ESPN | fuboTV It’s the next chapter of the Kyrie Irving-LeBron James saga. Irving, who requested a trade from the Cavs last offseason, has the Celtics leading the Eastern Conference with a 30-10 record. Isaiah Thomas — who came to the Cavs on the other end of that trade — isn’t expected to play in the game, but Cleveland fans hope he’s back to full health soon....

The Red Devils were absolutely humbled by Brentford in their Premier League fixture. A number of individual errors and some comical defending led to Brentford scoring four goals in the first half itself. Only one of those goals came as a result of good football from the attackers and not individual errors from the defending team. United lacked fluidity in attack and midfield once again. The fullbacks were expertly taken out of the game by Brentford and the midfield simply did not have the quality to progress or keep the ball....

On Saturday, the Pistons lost to the Portland Trailblazers 117-112. Three out of five Pistons starters scored in double figures, but the Pistons failed to win. Blake Griffin led the team with 27 points, and Andre Drummond had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Brooklyn Nets are slowly gaining on the Pistons and have a chance to take the sixth seed. The Pistons have a lead, but their next game could be a challenge, when play the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night....

While Mario Hezonja was 11/22 for 29 points, the Knicks shot just 6/27 from the 3-point arc for 22.2%. They have also lost 8 straight road games. Their only hope, in 2019, is that they may get to select Zion Williamson at the draft. The Houston Rockets are headed in the opposite direction. They are 51-28 this season with three games yet to play. The Rockets are a strong home team with a 29-10 record....

It is inevitable that a few players will be selected earlier than they probably should be, though. Here are three players that could be picked too soon in the 2019 draft: Darius Garland, guard, Vanderbilt Garland is consistently projected to be a top-five pick in multiple mock drafts. The 6-2 guard out of Vanderbilt left this year’s draft combine early, and there was speculation that he may have been promised a lottery spot by a team....

Indiana has picked up forward TJ Warren and the 32nd pick in the draft from the Suns in exchange for cash considerations, according to ESPN. The Suns now are off the hook for the remaining three years and $35 million on Warren’s deal. Warren was the 14th pick of the 2014 draft out of NC State, but he never was quite able to get going in Phoenix. He had a few good stints with the team, but struggled with injuries and the Suns failed to win games....

Williamson shed giant tears with his mother after hearing his name called, just a few picks before two of his fellow Duke teammates Barrett and Cam Reddish were selected in the top 10. Kentucky and North Carolina joined Duke in each producing three first round picks. Eleven freshmen were taken in the first round. NBA DRAFT WINNERS & LOSERS:Pelicans, Grizzlies build bright futures; Suns, Wizards reach Oregon’s Bol Bol was the biggest drop of the night....

Before we break down all of our picks, here are the most notable scoring rules for DraftKings contests: Made three-point shot (+0.5 points), rebound (+1.25 points), assists (+1.5 points), steals and blocks (+2 points), double-double (+1.5 points – max one per player) and triple-double (+3 points – max one player). Friday night’s NBA DraftKings Picks: NBA DFS lineup for GPP tournaments Friday night main slate, $50,000 budget PG Fred VanVleet, Raptors @ Warriors ($8,000)....

He didn’t get arrested. He didn’t get suspended on some drug violation. He didn’t hurtle himself into the stands to go after heckling fans. He didn’t kick a cameraman on the sideline. We’ve seen all that before. Thomas has dropped in free-agent stature almost through no fault of his own. The problem here is his hip, which front-office execs around the league fear is either pre-arthritic or already arthritic. Maybe the only way that Thomas has hurt his own free agency has been by not choosing to have hip surgery sooner during last season, when he was an All-Star and an MVP candidate for the Celtics....