Team USA continued their run through the FIBA World Cup with a 96-68 victory over Lithuania earlier today. Kyrie Irving led the way with 18 points and four assists, James Harden and Klay Thompson added 16 points each, and Stephen Curry dropped 13. For Lithuania, Jonas Valanciunas led the way with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Here’s the latest from the Eastern Conference:
- The Knicks have partially guaranteed the contracts of Travis Wear for $62K, and Langston Galloway for $31K, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link). Both players were recently signed to one-year, minimum salary deals.
- The Cavaliers had the biggest offseason of any franchise with the return of LeBron James and the acquisition of Kevin Love. The crew at Basketball Insiders previews Cleveland’s upcoming season, and the consensus has them finishing first in the Central Division.
- There’s a new regime in Detroit this season with the arrival of Stan Van Gundy. In their season preview, the majority of the staff at Basketball Insiders pick the Pistons to improve slightly and finish third in the Central Division this upcoming season.
- The Sixers might “best” their 2013/14 total of 63 losses this upcoming season, according to Adi Joseph of USA Today. In his pre-season rankings, Joseph predicts Philadelphia will lose 74 games next season, which would eclipse the current NBA record of 73 losses set by the 1972/73 Sixers team.