LeBron in Philadelphia: a title in the plans, arthritis in the foot

LeBron James is starting his 24th NBA season, his first in a Philadelphia jersey, and his daily schedule looks more like rehab than preseason. Every morning at 7:45 he's at the Sixers' training centre with his long-time conditioning coach Mike Mancias, with special attention on his left foot, which has chronic arthritis, and his lower back - sciatica kept him out for the whole first month of last season. Over the summer Philadelphia also brought in Jaylen Brown, kept Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, and are now considered title favourites - even though last season they finished seventh in the East at 45-37 and went out to New York in the second round. LeBron and several other stars will sit out the preseason opener against the Knicks. A team built for a ring, and its biggest star starts every day nursing his foot - how long can that maths hold up?

Žalgiris fine Carsen Edwards for drink-driving

Žalgiris's American guard Carsen Edwards was stopped by police in Kaunas while driving under the influence of alcohol. After an internal investigation the club fined him, without disclosing the amount. The statement says such behaviour "is not in line with Žalgiris's values" and that every member of the team must show respect for the law "both on and off the court". According to the club, Edwards admitted his mistake and expressed sincere regret. The amount stayed secret - and without it, it's hard to tell whether the fine is a message to the dressing room or just to the public.

EuroLeague: Partizan defend, Real search for themselves

After the opening rounds of the EuroLeague, Partizan have built an identity you can see from the stands - the fourth-best defence in the league, and opponents held under 80 points twice. The best example is the 86:84 win over Bayern, after trailing by 13 points in the third quarter. Carlik Jones, who has emerged as the team's top scorer, had 16 points, 12 of them in the final quarter, and Tonye Jekiri added 17. "We could easily have given up, but we fought," Jones said. On the other side, Real Madrid, after winning the Supercup, have lost to Efes and Hapoel and are still getting used to Pedro Martínez's system. Belgrade character against Madrid's budget - for now, character is winning.

Pelister beat TFT in the Super League opener

The Macedonian Super League opened with a proper finish at the Boro Čurlevski hall: Pelister - TFT 78:70. The Bitola side led 20:16 after the first quarter, it was 38:37 at half-time, and with two and a half minutes left Pelister were up 71:65. TFT answered with a five-point run, but the hosts played the finish with cooler heads. Cameron McDowell led the scoring with 19 points and 7 rebounds, and Sapundžiev added 14 points and 6 rebounds. For TFT, Sila had a game to remember - 31 points and 9 rebounds, enough for round MVP but not for the win. One player can give you numbers, but wins come from the team that knows how to close a game.

Efremovski with 29 points as Rabotnički take Strumica

Rabotnički opened the season with an away win in Strumica, 92:85, led by Viktor Efremovski with 29 points. Rikić added a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds. Mirkovski's team were +24 in the third quarter and looked like the game was long over - until Strumica clawed back to just five points in the last ten minutes. For the hosts, Crawford scored 31. The win is in the bag, but a 24-point lead that melted to five is a lesson Rabotnički will have to learn before the tougher opponents arrive.