From a tough break for Max Strus to ESPN reshuffling its top crew to EuroBasket 2025 delivering some wild early action, the hoops world has been anything but quiet this week. Let’s get into it!

Today’s Lineup

🎉 Happy birthday to David West and Daeqwon Plowden! 🎉

Around the Association

Max Strus expected to be out 3-4 months after foot surgery

Cleveland fans were just dealt a blow in the month leading up to training camp: Cavs guard Max Strus underwent surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his left foot and is expected to be sidelined for three to four months.

Strus, who signed a multiyear deal last summer, has averaged 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists over two years with the Cavaliers after finding his way to Cleveland via a trade with Miami. He’ll miss the start of the 2025-26 campaign, and multiple sources are placing his return around the turn of the new year.

The Cavs, who finished last season with an Eastern Conference-best 64-18 record, will suddenly have to juggle rotation minutes with Strus absent; look for rookie Jaylon Tyson or new trade addition Lonzo Ball to see more action off the bench with Strus absent. Fans will be eager to see him rejoin Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland to keep Cleveland’s momentum from last season rolling!

Tim Legler promoted to ESPN’s top NBA broadcast team, replacing Doris Burke

ESPN’s broadcast team is getting another shakeup.

After a few years as one of the network’s top analysts, Doris Burke has been moved off the No. 1 crew, with longtime studio commentator Tim Legler sliding into her chair alongside play-by-play icon Mike Breen, analyst Richard Jefferson, and reporter Lisa Salters. Legler will call the 2026 Finals and other marquee regular season and playoff games, while Burke will work with play-by-play veteran Dave Pasch on the network’s secondary broadcast team.

Legler, who played 310 games over his 10-year NBA career and won the 1996 Three-Point Shootout, brings a lively on-air style and some sharp X’s and O’s insight to the booth. Burke will remain a fixture on ESPN broadcasts and has signed a multiyear extension with the network.

The decision follows last year’s overhaul of ESPN’s top talent, which brought Doc Rivers and JJ Redick in to replace Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson… only for Rivers and Redick to leave for Milwaukee and Los Angeles, respectively. We can’t wait to see how this new trio’s chemistry compares to Burke’s groundbreaking tenure!

EuroBasket Excitement

EuroBasket 2025 started on Wednesday, and we can’t wait for the rest of the tournament! Here were the big headlines you won’t want to miss from this week.

• Valanciunas, Lithuania open tournament with 94-70 win over Great Britain: Lithuania shook off a shaky start in this one to open their campaign with a big win. Jonas Valanciunas paced them with 18 points and nine rebounds, while Rokas Jokubaitis added 12 points of his own. The Baltic team out-rebounded Great Britain 57-31, setting a EuroBasket record for rebounds in a game!

• Markkanen dominates; Finland takes down Sweden 93-90: Finland eked out a three-point win in front of a raucous home crowd as Lauri Markkanen (28 PTS) led the team alongside guards Edon Maxhuni (15 PTS) and Sasu Salin (11 PTS). Sweden shot 63% from the field, but their efficiency wasn’t enough to overcome their own free throw struggles and Finland’s early cushion.

• Wagner, Schroder shine as Germany blows out Montenegro 106-76: Germany turned a three-point halftime margin into a blowout by way of a 33-12 third-quarter surge that shut down Nikola Vucevic (23 PTS, 10 REB, 5 AST) and the rest of the Montenegrin squad. Franz Wagner (22 PTS) and Dennis Schroder (21 PTS) were the main drivers behind the Germans’ second-half explosion.

• Well-rounded French attack defeats Belgium 92-64: France’s depth overwhelmed Belgium, with all 12 of their players scoring and four reaching double figures. Bilal Coulibaly provided an extra spark to the French team with 12 points and a pair of crazy blocks, as Les Bleus won despite shooting just 8-28 from three, while Belgium’s top contributor was Hans Vanwijn (13 PTS).

• Raptors’ Mamu leads Georgia to 83-69 upset of Spain: Upset alert! Georgia stunned the reigning EuroBasket champions behind Sandro Mamukelashvili’s dominant performance (19 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST). Georgia dominated the boards (46-29) all day while the Spaniards floundered at the free throw line to the tune of a measly 46% conversion rate.

• Portugal beats Czechia 62-50 for first EuroBasket win in 18 years: In his tournament debut, a monster outing from Neemias Queta (23 PTS, 18 REB, 4 BLK, 2 STL) helped Portugal secure their first EuroBasket win since 2007. Portugal pressured 19 turnovers out of Czechia, whose only double-figure scoring contribution came from Vit Krejci (10 PTS).

Three in the Key

Signing Off

Happy Friday, Enjoyers! This might be one of the last true summer weekends of the year, depending on what neck of the woods you’re from, so get out there and make the most of it. We’ll see you on Monday!

Austin Zeglis