Fear the Links: What to watch for at EuroBasket

Happy Friday, everyone. Here’s today’s links with a look at EuroBasket, some quarterback takes and more. And later today, look for Kyrie Irving’s comments from his introductory press conference with the Celtics. Maybe he’ll actually talk about LeBron!

At ESPN, Mike Schmitz previews EuroBasket 2017 with a focus on Slovenian guard Luka Doncic, a possible No. 1 pick next year. Here’s some of what he wrote about Doncic:

Going head-to-head with French guards Evan Fournier and Nando De Colo in the group stage and potentially Ricky Rubio, Tomas Satoransky, Bogdan Bogdanovic or Bojan Bogdanovic in the elimination rounds, NBA scouts will get an excellent view of what Doncic looks like against pro-caliber talent. Having to create versus long, athletic wings such as Axel Toupane or Thanasis Antetokounmpo or feisty guards like Nick Calathes will give scouts a window into what Doncic may look like as a primary option at the NBA level.

Finishing over the likes of Kristaps Porzingis, Timofey Mozgov and the Gasol brothers will be no easy feat, either. How Doncic fares defending scorers such as Fournier also will be telling in regard to how he projects defensively in the NBA, as he might be best checking small forwards, given his size of 6-foot-8 and 228 pounds.

We’ll have full coverage of EuroBasket on the site with a focus on Cedi Osman. SB Nation also has full tournament tracker here.

What else to read today: Waypoint’s Mike Piellucci on why the future of EA Sports is storytelling, The Athletic’s Zack Meisel on Ryan Merritt establishing himself, SI’s Michael McCann on how the Lakers got caught tampering, the Washington Post Candace Buckner talked to Kelly Oubre about being displaced by Katrina and CBS’ Matt Moore on where Damian Lillard’s career currently stands.