The Euro Stash: Jonah Bolden Getting Attention

Jonah Bolden-

Drafted 2^nd Round 36^th Overall 2017 PF/C

Plays for Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv (Euroleague/Israeli Premier League)

It only took me 3 months to break down and order a Jonah Bolden jersey.

Bolden is continuing to play very consistent basketball for Maccabo FOX. In his last outing, he put up a solid 12/9/5 along with 2 steals and a block.

One thing that impressed me the most was his passing ability in this game. And the fact that he tried to murder a man on a dunk attempt. He also had a nice finish over Sixer great Brandon Davies.

Mike Schmitz of ESPN recently sat down with Bolden to discuss his journey from college, to Europe, to the draft, and back to Europe. The soft spoken Aussie was quick Highlights from this interview include Jonah saying -- -

- “for me, obviously I want to be in the NBA, I think I was supposed to be in the NBA”

- “I think I’ve gotten stronger and bigger, I think I’m at 6’10 and a half now”

- “I have found my role on this team as a real defensive anchor…”

- “Being able to play the three and the four (and the five) are important to me”

- “He (Simmons) has always been an alpha dog, I’m honestly not surprised how good he’s been”

- “I didn’t want to get stashed, I thought I kind of stashed myself when I went over to Europe out of college… but I knew from there that I just had to get to work”

He also mentions that him and Brett Brown have a long history, as well as a long relationship with Ben Simmons; Simmons father and Bolden’s father played together in Australia, and Bolden and Simmons played alongside on certain teams in Australia.

Full interview:

DraftExpress also threw together a midseason report on him including his strengths and weakness as he continues to develop.

Mathias Lessort-

Drafted 2^nd Round 50^th Overall 2017 PF/C

Plays for Crvena Zvezda (Euroleague/Adriatic League)

Over his last three games Mathias is averaging 9.3 PPG on 10-19 (52%) shooting from the field and 8-11 (72%) from the free throw line. Lessort has slipped a little bit on his defensive rebounding, as he now ranks 37^th in defensive rebounds per game with 2.7 per game. He still holds his spot at second in the Euroleague averaging 2.95 offensive rebounds per game. But that dip in defensive rebounds has resulted in a slip to 9^th in the Euroleague in total rebounds per game. Lessort is in a 5-way tie for 8^th place in blocks per game with .9 per game (2.35 per 40). Of all the things listed, his improvement in his free throw has been the most important. If Lessort can continue to knock down his free throws, he is going to have the ability to drive and finish with a lot more confidence; and he can hopefully open up some sort of a mid-range game with a consistent and confident stroke.

Anzejs Pasecniks-

Drafted First Round 25^th Overall 2017 (acquired from Magic via trade) Center

Plays for Herbalife Gran Canaria (EuroCup/Liga ACB)

I keep seeing people on twitter saying we’re bringing him over this summer. STAHP. He is still not nearly good enough for the NBA. He is the backup center for a team in the Spanish Liga ACB. In his last Eurocup match, he posted maybe the most underwhelming 6 and 7 I have ever seen. He is long, he is active on defense, and he is still relatively young (23). Other than that he has to work on, everything.

Vasilije Micic-

Drafted 2^nd Round 52^nd Overall

Plays for Žalgiris (Euroleague/Lithuanian Basketball League)

Micic is 9^th in the Euroleague in assists per game (4.48) and 4^th in the league in turnovers per game (2.3). He had 12 points in his latest game against Jonah Bolden and crew.

The Others:

Hollis Thompson continues to struggle as he has now failed to reach double digits since December 28^th. He is 1-9 from the field in his last three games.

Sergio Rodriguez is still balling out as he is averaging 14 and 5 as he and Nando De Colo are leading CSKA Moscow to the top spot in the Euroleague.

Pierre Jackson also continues to shine as he is still putting up 15 and 4 assists per night.

Chukwudiebere Maduabum has put up 8 points in each of his last two games for the Cyberdyne Ibaraki Robots including a total of 4 dunks.

Arturas Gudaitis still far and away has the best True Shooting % in the Euroleague at 73% (second place is 63%).

Hopefully that killed enough time for all the Eagles fans anxiously tapping their feet today. Go Birds.