The Euro Stash: Jonah Bolden Catches Fire

Just a quick note before I get into this: No matter how many times I look it up and type it, or copy-paste, or try to hammer it into my head, I cannot spell Anzejs Pashekniks for the life of me. There, I even messed it up right there as I was trying to get it right. It’s Ansejs Pasecniks. Damnit I did it again. Anzejs Pasecniks. Boom, got it. Okay we can move on now.

Jonah Bolden

Rd. 2 Pick 36 in 2017 - Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv (Euroleague/Israeli Premier League)

Jonah Bolden may not have been the Sixers’ highest stash pick last year, but he’s making an early push for being their most notable overseas player. In an Israeli League game last Monday, Bolden led Maccabi in minutes (30) and points (20) when they put the game into high gear in the 4th going from a 56-51 lead at the end of the third to an 83-62 final. Bolden went 4-for-5 from three, didn’t miss a two-pointer, and added 5 boards, 2 assists, and a block. It was one hell of a showing:

Bolden is currently 2nd in the Israeli League in rebounds per minute, and is averaging 10.8/7.8/1.3 in 22.8 minutes per night. He’s shooting 43.8% from long range and over 56% from short. In two more Euroleague games, he’s raised his point average (from 3.3 to 4.8) and added on about .8 more rebounds since we last checked in. In a recent loss to Crvena Zvezda (more on them in a minute) Bolden scored 11 points on 3-of-6 threes. Maccabi is 3-2 in Euroleague and 4-0 in the Israeli League, and Bolden is really showing the versatility and range that made him a potential first-round talent hiding out in the second, and now Israel.

Mathias Lessort

Rd. 2 Pick 50 in 2017 - Crvena Zvezda (Euroleague/Adriatic League)

Mathias Lessort is continuing to dunk on everybody and everything:

And again:

And again:

He’s maintaining his averages in Euroleague play of 10-ish points and 7-ish rebounds, and was highlighted as one of the league’s “Young Guns.” In the Adriatic League, where his team is 5-2, Lessort is shooting a truly bonkers and league leading 78% from the field. SEVENTY-EIGHT PERCENT. I’m not sure how many of those are dunks. Lessort struck me - especially in Summer League - as the least impressive of the three stash picks from this season. He may have found a nice, pick-and-roll rim running niche in Europe (that is making him the early, early MVP leader in the ABA), but time will tell if he’s as good as those numbers.

Anzejs Pasecniks

Rd. 1 Pick 25 in 2017 - Herbalife Gran Canaria (EuroCup/Liga ACB)

Being as he’s a tall Latvian, Pasecniks will undoubtedly draw comparisons to Kristaps Porzingis. And while they’re both 7’2”+, Pasecniks doesn’t quite have the range of Porzingis just yet, going 1-5 from three in combined play between EuroCup and Liga ACB. In ACB, he’s scoring 6.7 points (on 54.8% shoting) and pulling down 4.1 rebounds in only 17 minutes per game. In similar playing time, he’s averaging 11.8 points (69.2%) and 5.8 rebounds in EuroCup. Maybe the international competition gets a rise out of him (it’s also where he’s 1-1 from long range). He’s may be the EuroCup and not Euroleague (one step below), but you know he’s not doing much that’s crazy notable when there’s no real highlights. Here’s some:

We’ll have more actual game watching under our belt for next time.

Vasilije Micic

Rd. 2 Pick 52 in 2014 - Žalgiris (Euroleague/Lithuanian Basketball League)

There’s honestly no reason to keep Micic in these updates - let me know in the comments if I should just drop him from here - but while he’s still here, let’s check in: Micic, whose staring center is Brandon Davies (I somehow missed this last time and I am ashamed), is basically averaging 9 points and 5 assists in both Euroleague and the LBL. This is the second Micic update where the most notable fact was about another player.