Joel Embiid is "not even close" to feeling fully fit despite producing his best performance of the season to inspire the Philadelphia 76ers past the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.
Last season's MVP runner-up posted a season-high 43 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists in his fifth game back following a three-week spell on the sidelines with COVID-19.
Embiid scored six of Philadelphia's eight points in the 127-124 overtime win as he recorded his 10th career 40-point, 15-rebound game for the 76ers – only Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain (30) has more in franchise history.
He took 20 shots in total from the field and missed just five of them, while also knocking down 12 of his 14 attempts from the foul line, but the 27-year-old feels he still has more to give once fully over his recent bout with coronavirus.
"I'm not even close," he said in his post-game interview when asked if he is now feeling 100 per cent. "I'm still feeling it. I get tired easily, feel pretty weak, but every single day I'm slowly getting better.
"I've just got to keep pushing myself. My teammates, they push me. They want me to be making all the plays offensively and defensively, so as long as I got that trust I'm still going to keep pushing."
The returning Tobias Harris had 21 points and 11 rebounds as the 76ers moved to 13-11 for the season with their first back-to-back wins in a month.
Harris was particularly impressed by the performance of team-mate Embiid, who is averaging 23.9 point per game in 2020-21, down on the 28.5 across 51 games last time out.
"He's so dominant out there, especially when he is able to get his position on the floor," Harris said. "He's able to punish a team.
"They threw different guys at him, but he's so much bigger and stronger."
Jonny Bairstow has been left out of England's 12-man squad for the first Ashes Test against Australia.
The 32-year-old, who is on his third Ashes tour, struggled during last weekend's warm-up against England Lions and has lost his place in the side.
Ollie Pope is instead preferred to Bairstow in the middle order for the match at the Gabba in Brisbane, which begins on Wednesday.
England had announced earlier on Tuesday that paceman James Anderson is "fit" but will not play a part in the first Test as a precaution.
Spinner Jack Leach is included in the squad, as is Ben Stokes, whose last meaningful cricket came back in July.
Visiting England, who are looking to reclaim the urn from Australia's grip, will name their final XI at the toss.
Australia named their starting XI last week, with Travis Head getting the nod over Usman Khawaja in one of the big selection calls made by Pat Cummins.
England have won two of their last three Tests against Australia – including a 135-run win when they last met, though they are winless in their last 10 away Tests to Australia (D1, L9) having last won in the country in January 2011.
Joe Root's England have lost six of their last nine Tests heading into this series (W1 D2) and have lost their last three Tests away from home. The last time they lost more consecutive away Tests was a seven-game stretch from November 2016 to December 2017.
England squad for first Ashes Test: Joe Root (c), Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Haseeb Hameed, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
World number one Novak Djokovic has committed to playing the ATP Cup in Sydney amid ongoing uncertainty over his title defence at next month's Australian Open.
Djokovic has been unwilling to confirm his place at January's Australia Open due to the COVID-19 mandate in Victoria.
The state of Victoria, where the year's opening grand slam takes place at Melbourne Park, has introduced a vaccine mandate for professional athletes and across most industries due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Djokovic's father, Srdjan, said the nine-time Australian Open champion is unlikely to feature in Melbourne unless vaccination rules are relaxed.
But in a boost for the slam's organisers, Djokovic was named in top-seeded Serbia's team for the third edition of the ATP Cup, which will take place in Sydney from January 1-9.
"We're excited to host the third edition of the ATP Cup in Sydney in 2022," said ATP Cup tournament director Tom Larner.
"The playing group enjoy representing their countries and to see 18 of the world’s Top 20 players commit to the event is testament to that.
"The event shows off the passion the playing group have for this format and we look forward to welcoming all 16 teams to Sydney later this month."
The 2021 Australian Open went ahead, albeit in February instead of January, and without fans for most of the tournament following a snap lockdown of Melbourne due to COVID-19.
Djokovic – winner of a joint-record 20 grand slam titles – was among the players critical of the conditions athletes endured prior to this year's Australian Open, with strict quarantine measures introduced.
Joel Embiid produced a monster double-double to lift the Philadelphia 76ers past the Charlotte Hornets 127-124 in overtime.
Embiid carried the 76ers (13-11) to victory away to the Hornets on Monday, posting a season-high 43 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists.
Last season's MVP runner-up, Embiid – scorer of six of Philadelphia's eight points in OT – was 15-of-20 shooting as he recorded his 10th career 40-point, 15-rebound game for the 76ers – only Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain (30) has more in franchise history.
Tobias Harris added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the 76ers, who claimed back-to-back victories while extending their winning streak against the Hornets to 15 games, dating back to 2017.
Kelly Oubre Jr.'s 35 points, which included six three-pointers, was not enough for the Hornets (14-12).
Curry up to his old tricks
Stephen Curry nailed a stunning half-court buzzer-beater at the end of the first quarter in the Golden State Warriors' 126-95 rout of the lowly Orlando Magic. Curry finished with 31 points and eight assists, while Andrew Wiggins (28 points) nailed a career-high eight three-pointers.
Birthday boy Giannis Antetokounmpo had 27 and 12 rebounds to inspire defending champions the Milwaukee Bucks to a 112-104 victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Milwaukee won for the 10th time in 11 games on Antetokounmpo's 27th birthday.
Despite a triple-double from reigning MVP Nikola Jokic (17 points, 12 rebounds and a season-high 15 assists), the Denver Nuggets were beaten 109-97 by the high-flying Chicago Bulls.
Portland's skid continues
The Portland Trail Blazers tasted defeat for the third consecutive game after going down 102-90 to the Los Angeles Clippers. The shorthanded Blazers – playing without All-Star Damian Lillard – have lost six of their last seven games and have the worst defence this season.
Francesco Totti leapt to the defence of under-fire Roma head coach Jose Mourinho by saying the Giallorossi do not have any world-class players, while calling for time for the Portuguese to overhaul the Serie A side.
Mourinho – who arrived in the Italian capital at the start of the season – has cut a frustrated figure amid Roma's run of just three wins in nine Serie A matches.
After a 3-0 loss to Inter on Saturday condemned Roma to back-to-back losses, Mourinho snapped at a journalist and refused to answer his question in a media conference, having cancelled his pre-match news conference.
Mourinho has also been critical of recruitment, the former Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter boss determined to bolster his Roma squad in January.
As pressure mounts with Roma sitting seventh in the standings and nine points adrift of the Champions League places, club great Totti showed his support for Mourinho.
"To win you need the [right] players," said Totti, who is Roma's all-time leading appearance maker and scorer. "To win it takes an important manager. It takes a club that makes you feel at home at every level of your employment here.
"They have to be always available for everyone here but the most important thing, as we all know, if you want to win you need the players. It is a necessity, the foundation [of victory].
"I don't want to disrespect our current squad now, because it is an important squad with important players. But there are no 'champions' [world class players], and this is plain to see. Only good players who can do well in a certain context."
Roma have not won the Scudetto since 2001, while not since 2008 have they claimed silverware.
Mourinho's Roma have lost seven of their first 16 Serie A games for the first time since 2008-09.
Totti – who spent the entirety of his professional career at Roma, making 786 appearances in all competitions, scoring 307 goals and winning one Serie A title – added: "When we talk about Roma, I feel huge emotions.
"As a fan, I can say we are not in a great period but 'if you are not Roma, you don't suffer', this is our motto as we say and I guess we are used to it, to these topsy-turvy seasons.
"But I am sure the board and the gaffer [Mourinho] want to put back a smile on us fans' faces. A city like Rome deserves respect and most luminous stages than what we are watching now.
"Give them time... but not too long and hope we can see Roma back to shine at international level."
The Chicago Bulls will be without DeMar DeRozan against the Denver Nuggets on Monday after the star entered the NBA's health and safety protocols.
DeRozan is the third Bulls player to go through the league's COVID-19 protocols, joining team-mates Coby White and Javonte Green.
It remains to be seen how long four-time All-Star DeRozan will be sidelined in Chicago, where the new-look Bulls (16-8) have made a strong start to the season.
DeRozan has fuelled the Bulls, earning Eastern Conference Player of the Week honours having averaged 30.3 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 58.7 per cent from the field.
Entering Monday's play, DeRozan – who leads the league in points (633) – has been averaging 26.4 points per game, his best mark since the 2016-17 season.
DeRozan has also averaged 5.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists, while shooting 49.8 per cent from the field and 33.3 per cent from three-point range – the 32-year-old only managed better in 2015-16 (33.8).
Chicago defeated the Eastern Conference-leading Brooklyn Nets 111-107 on Saturday while outscoring their opponents 32-25 in the fourth quarter. The Bulls are averaging 28.3 points in the fourth quarter this season, the most in the NBA, according to Stats Perform.
Against the Nets, Zach LaVine poured in 31 points while DeRozan scored 29. This season, the Bulls are 9-2 when both players score at least 25 points and 7-6 when only one or neither hit that mark.
James Anderson and Stuart Broad were the only members of the England squad who were born when the tourists last won an Ashes Test at the Gabba.
The hostile iconic Brisbane venue has been such a fortress for Australia that you have to go back to November 1986 for their previous Test defeat to England at the ground where the 2021-22 series starts on Wednesday.
Yet India consigned Australia to a first Gabba loss in the longest format for over 32 years in January and England captain Joe Root is backing his side to end the hoodoo, despite a lack of match practice due to rain.
The world's number one Test batter said: "[Victory] would absolutely set us up for the rest of the series and it's a great opportunity.
"This group of players, not that long ago, went to Cape Town where we've not won a Test for a long period of time and off the back of a performance there won the series.
"I feel like we have been able to do that around the world and this is an opportunity to do that here. Obviously conditions are slightly different to home, at this venue in particular with that extra bit of bounce, but we have prepared as well as we can for that. If we manage that well we should give a really good account of ourselves and start well."
Ben Stokes' return gives England a massive lift as they attempt to wrestle back the urn, though they won't have the usual level of backing from the Barmy Army as usual due to coronavirus travel restrictions.
The tourists were thrashed 4-0 in their last Ashes series Down Under in 2017-18 after the humiliation of a 2013-14 whitewash, so it is almost 10 years since their last Test win in Australia.
Stats Perform looks at some of the key factors that will decide whether they can make it a miserable start to Pat Cummins' reign as Australia Test captain.
Stoking the fires
Stokes has not played for his country since July, but declared himself fit to face Australia after taking a break to prioritise his mental well-being and fully recover from a fractured finger.
The all-rounder was England's player of the series in an Ashes series two years ago that ended in a 2-2 draw, scoring 441 runs at an average of 55.12 and producing one of the great innings at Headingley to pull off an unlikely victory.
Vice-captain Stokes' return should add strength to the middle order they have been lacking and Root will be hoping he can do some damage in short, sharp bursts with the ball.
Root must keep racking up the runs
It has been an incredible 2021 for Root, who has scored six Test centuries - including one double-hundred in Sri Lanka and another in India.
The skipper said this tour will define his captaincy and England will need him to keep racking up the runs if they are to return home with a surprise series win.
Only five batsmen have scored more Test centuries in a year than Root's tally, with Mohammad Yousuf holding the record with a staggering nine in 2006.
Lack of pace potency?
Not for the first time in Ashes, a lack of pace could be a big issue for England and how they would love to have a fit Jofra Archer firing.
Australian Troy Cooley was brought into the touring party as a consultant pace bowling coach and there is no doubting the quality in the England attack, led by James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Broad tormented Warner in the 2019 series, but the opener could be much more difficult to dismiss on home soil with a Kookaburra ball and returned to form in Australia's recent T20 World Cup triumph.
Mark Wood is capable of doing damage but it remains to be seen how many Tests the injury-prone quick can play. Ollie Robinson could make a big impact in his first Ashes series and Chris Woakes can hit the sort of lengths to trouble batters in Australia.
Two-time Jamaican Olympian Yona Knight-Wisdom walked away with three medals and a possible diving partner from the Scottish National and Open Diving Championships. The Championships ran from December 2-5 at the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh.
The United States government confirmed on Monday that it will not send officials to the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing, though athletes will attend with theIr full support.
President Joe Biden stated last month that he was considering a diplomatic boycott amid criticism of China's human rights record.
A statement from China earlier in the day said that it would bring unspecified "countermeasures" against any such diplomatic boycott.
However, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told a daily press briefing: "The Biden administration will not send any diplomatic or official representation to the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games given the [People's Republic of China's] ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses.
"U.S. diplomatic or official representation would treat these games as business as usual in the face of the PRC's egregious human rights abuses and atrocities in Xinjiang, and we simply can't do that."
Psaki did confirm that the diplomatic boycott will not affect the attendance of American athletes, adding: "The athletes on Team USA have our full support. We will be behind them 100 per cent as we cheer them on from home."
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian had told a news briefing earlier in Beijing that calls for a boycott amount to "grandstanding" and should be halted "so as not to affect the dialogue and cooperation between China and the United States in important areas.
"If the U.S. insists in wilfully clinging to its course, China will take resolute countermeasures," he added, without confirming what those countermeasures would be.
The Winter Olympics are due to run from February 4-20, while the Paralympics are scheduled to take place from March 4-13.
Bianca Andreescu will miss the 2022 Australian Open to focus on her mental health after suffering a "very challenging" couple of years.
Andreescu has struggled with physical and mental concerns since winning the US Open two years ago.
The 21-year-old has felt the strain even more this year, with her grandmother in intensive care after contracting COVID-19, Andreescu also testing positive and spending significant time in isolation.
The former world number four has decided to skip the first grand slam next year as she takes extra time out to "reset, recover and grow", but vowed to return "stronger than ever."
The Canadian tweeted: "As you all know, the past two years have been very challenging for me for a variety of reasons.
"Especially this year in particular, I spent multiple weeks in isolation quarantining which affected me greatly – both mentally and physically. In addition, my grandmother spent several weeks in the ICU due to a covid infection, something that really hit me hard.
"A lot of days, I did not feel like myself, especially while I was training and/or playing matches. I felt like I was carrying the world on my shoulders.
"I could not detach myself from everything that was going on off the court; was feeling the collective sadness and turmoil around it and it took its toll on me.
"I want to give myself extra time to reset, recover and grow from this (as cliche [sic] as that sounds) and continue to inspire by doing charity work, giving back and working on myself because I know by doing this, I will come back stronger than ever.
"I will therefore not start my season in Australia this year, but will take some additional time to reflect, train and be ready for the upcoming 2022 season."
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola labelled Dani Olmo a "fantastic player" ahead of Tuesday's Champions League meeting with RB Leipzig.
City have breezed through Group A as they prepare to head to Leipzig, having previously gone 14 games unbeaten against German opposition in the competition.
The Bundesliga outfit can only make the Europa League after a disappointing group-stage showing, are still without a home win in Europe this term and parted ways with head coach Jesse Marsch on Sunday amid a poor run of form.
Guardiola, though, heaped praise on Leipzig as he hailed Olmo as a standout star, although he dismissed any speculation of a reported move for the Spain international.
Asked about a potential transfer for forward Olmo, Guardiola responded: "[The] answer is no. He is a Leipzig player.
"If we are interested, I'm sure City will contact Leipzig. Saying that, he is a fantastic, fantastic player.
"I'm happy he had the courage to leave Barcelona to develop his skills and then arrive at Leipzig."
Olmo caught the headlines at Euro 2020 as he became just the third player – after Cesc Fabregas (2008) and Dejan Kulusevski (2021) – to assist two goals after being substituted on at the European Championship.
But the former Barcelona man has made only three starts this season across all competitions, assisting just one goal, and he is yet to find the net after struggling with a muscle injury.
Leipzig have felt the absence of one of their key players and are down in 11th in the Bundesliga, 16 points behind reigning champions Bayern Munich at the top.
While speculation persists over who will succeed Marsch, Guardiola took the opportunity to praise the environment that has been developed at Leipzig.
"Leipzig has a culture, they won't sign a manager who doesn't want to play their way," he added. "They want to play a specific way, pressing, gegenpressing, attacking, live, sleep, eat.
"This is the culture, and the new manager will be similar like that. The impact of a new manager is clear, players open their eyes and play for the Europa League, an incredible competition, the money from UEFA.
"We won at home, it was difficult, what they did in Bruges [a 5-0 win over Club Brugge]. There are highs and lows this season but the philosophy, the way they play versus Paris Saint-Germain, they should win 2-0,3-0.
"They play their style. We have to be careful, impose our game. Play to improve. We don't play for the points, we play to improve. It's a perfect training game for us. We go to Leipzig [and then] do a good dinner tonight to celebrate our qualification."
Mexico and Cuba both enjoyed additional success as athletics action came to a close at the Junior Pan Am Junior in Cali, Colombia on Saturday.
Mexico won medals in the first two events on the day when Guillermo Ornelas took bronze in the Men’s 110m Hurdles in 14.05 and Cesar Ponce claimed a silver medal in the 3000m Steeplechase in 8:56.65.
Their compatriot, Israel Alvarez, finished fourth in the 800m in 1:50.43 ahead of Dominica's Dennick Luke, who was fifth in 1:50.79.
The Cubans then got in on the act in the discus where Mario Torres finished second with a throw of 60.77m and Anyel Sampre taking the bronze medal with 57.03m.
Another Caribbean competitor, Jorge Nazario of Puerto Rico, was sixth in 50.72.
Mexico’s Luis Peralta was sixth in the Men’s Pole Vault with 4.80 metres.
Cuba then got their first gold medal of the day with Andy Salazar jumping 16.77 metres to win the triple jump.
Taeco O’Garro of Antigua finished sixth with 15.60 metres.
There were only two individual female events on the day.
Arian Hernandez of Mexico finished fourth in the 3000m Steeplechase in 10:57.62.
Yaritza Valera then won Cuba’s second gold medal on the day with a 67.47 metres effort to win the Women’s Hammer Throw.
Her teammate Liz Llorente was fourth with 64.34 metres.
In the final athletics event of the Games, the Dominican Republic secured a bronze medal in the Mixed 4x400m Relay in 3:28.28 while Mexico finished fourth in 3:29.52.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has confirmed Kevin De Bruyne will start their final Champions League group game against RB Leipzig on Tuesday.
De Bruyne missed a month of action after contracting COVID-19 but made his return off the bench in Saturday's 3-1 win at Watford.
The Premier League champions have already secured top spot in Group A after their 2-1 win against Paris Saint-Germain on matchday five.
Speaking at a media conference ahead of City's trip to Germany, Guardiola revealed the Belgian will start the game, saying: "Kevin had the corona, was growing and after had the setback.
"It's normal, the people who have the corona feel empty. Step by step he plays the minutes, tomorrow he will start and we'll see how many minutes."
Guardiola also confirmed several youth players will travel for the game, though he also made mention that five substitutions are allowed in the Champions League, two more than in Premier League games, suggesting they may come off the bench rather than start in the Red Bull Arena.
"They are fantastic young players. They need to settle but the potential is there," he said. "Of course all the guys who play tomorrow want to win, for respect for Leipzig, and respect for Brugge and PSG.
"Hopefully tomorrow some of them can play - we have five subs, not three like here, so maybe we can use them."
The game will be played behind closed doors after the German state of Saxony was placed into a partial COVID-19 lockdown.
"In Germany the situation is not good," the City boss added. "The authorities have decided. We still have to be careful. That is my concern. The situation is dangerous.
"We need to learn that the situation is not solved. Like the PM said, wear a mask, observe social distance and be careful."
City left back Oleksandr Zinchenko also spoke at the media conference, and added: "It is sad news for both teams and the fans who wanted to go to the game and for the players as well.
"We just play for the fans but the main reason is for our health. I wish everyone is going to be healthy."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
