Checking in on Juhann Begarin and Yam Madar

The Celtics 2023-24 season is off to a flying start. They have the best record in the NBA and have advanced to the quarterfinals of the first ever In-Season Tournament. Things are looking good in Boston.

Across the world, a couple of Celtics draftees are putting in work in France and Turkey. They aren’t coming to the NBA this season, but is a debut in Boston any closer for either Juhann Begarin or Yam Madar?

(Note: All stats are through games played as of December 2 for Begarin and November 30 for Madar)

We’ll start with Juhann Begarin. The 6-foot-5 wing is now playing for Nanterre 92 in France. This is after spending the last four seasons with Paris Basketball.

Begarin has started in 13 of the 14 games Nanterre 92 has played this season. The now 21-year-old has averaged 9.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals per games. Begarin is taking only 7.9 field goal attempts per game, which is his lowest mark since he became a rotation regular with Paris Basketball in 2020-21.

Begarin is hitting 45.6% from the field, but is making a disappointing 27.9% of his three-pointers. The guard/forward is also getting to the free throw line only 1.5 times per game and hitting 60%.

Begarin’s three-point shot hasn’t improved in any kind of notable way since he’s been playing at the higher levels in France. He had one season of 34% shooting, but hasn’t topped 31% since then. More worrisome is that Begarin doesn’t seem to have the same finishing pop that he once had. He seems to be taking more pullups than getting all the way to the rim.

Here’s what an NBA international scout had to say about Begarin:

“He’s still a good athlete, but he’s not overpowering. That’s disappointing, given his age. He can still get by guys, but his handle needs work, especially if that was to be an NBA skill. What has me worried is that he doesn’t look to be any stronger. He looks a lot like the same guy, in terms of upper-body strength. The shot doesn’t look broken, but it never goes in. He’s usually off left or right. That’s not as fixable as short or long. He’s still not seeing the floor well as a passer. Lots of mistakes that I figured he’d correct by now in his third season in the top French league.

On defense, he’s still very competitive. He uses his speed and quickness to give guys trouble. He’s good at contesting shots off the bounce. He does a nice job getting out to shooters because he’s quick and he can jump.

I’d say he’s no closer to being an NBA player than he was over the last few years. He’s closest on defense, but he doesn’t defend well enough for that to be a signature skill to get him to the league.”

His rebounding and steal numbers have settled around just under 4.0 per game and around 1.5 per game, respectively. Those are solid enough and signs that he’s still getting his job done defensively.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Yam Madar moved to Fenerbahce in Turkey this season after two years with Partizan in Serbia. The move has challenged Madar in new ways.

This season, Madar has played in 18 of the 20 games that Fenerbahce has played this season. The 6-foot-3 guard has started in 10 of those 18 appearances. Madar’s starts have mostly come in the domestic Turkish League and in the VTB SuperCup tournament.

In his 18 games, the Israeli guard has averaged 8.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Madar has shot 48.1% from the field, but just 31.9% on 2.6 three-point attempts per game. Madar is getting to the free throw line slightly more, as he’s hitting 83.3% on 2.3 free throw attempts per game.

Madar seems to be playing with a bit more poise in Turkey than he did in Serbia. The faster pace has been a good fit for him, as Madar looks good pushing the ball and picking out shooters, cutter and rim-runners in transition.

However, Madar is in a prolonged shooting slump to start the season, as his shot looks the same as previous years. He shot 41% from deep in each of his two seasons with Partizan. Look for his numbers to come up as the season goes along.

Defensively, Madar still relies on beating guys to the spot with his smarts than being overly fast or quick. He’s a competitive defender. Think about how Payton Pritchard defends in the NBA, as how Madar defends over in Europe. It’s fairly similar.

Madar looks stronger in his upper body. He’s not getting bumped off the ball as easily, even if his turnover numbers have ticked up slightly. Those are mostly plays where Madar is being a little too ambitious in trying to make something happen.

His most recent EuroLeague game against Real Madrid was his best performance of the season. Madar scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-4 on three-pointers. He was asked to play a bit more of a scoring role off the bench in a 100-99 overtime victory.

In his minutes in that game, Madar was tasked with defending notable players like Rudy Fernandez (his primary matchup off the bench), Sergio Rodriguez and Sergio Llull. Madar held up well against all three players.

Here’s what another NBA international scout had to say about Madar:

“He’s tough. He’s not afraid to challenge guys on either end. He likes to play a physical game defensively, but quicker opponents can shake him fairly easily.

He’s pretty far away from being able to defend in the NBA, for me. He’s just not fast enough. Teams will isolate him in the halfcourt and he’s going to get blown by a lot. If you could keep him off-ball, he’d be better. But it’s a lot of clutch-and-grab stuff. He’ll get called for that in the NBA. You are allowed to be a lot more physical, especially off-ball, over here.

On offense, I like the way he runs the team when he has the ball. Fenerbahce uses him a lot more a secondary creator, because they play a lot of guards. But he’s still making plays. I’d like to see him as a primary creator more often, but it’s not gonna happen on a team with Nick Calathes, Marko Guduric, Scottie Wilbekin and Tyler Dorsey.

The shot is fine. He’s just a little amped up when he gets into these games as a backup. I think he misses his first couple long every time I see him. The one worry is that he’s not getting his shot off quite as easily as he did the last couple of years. The EuroLeague defenders are NBA-lite versions, so that’s not a great sign for him as a scorer in the NBA.

Overall, maybe Madar could be a third point guard in the NBA. He’s a step above a G League callup for me, but not too far above that. He’s 22 now too, so that’s something that we need to watch. We’ve seen some point guards come over later in their careers, but those are the best of the best in Europe. He’s not at that level. Maybe someday.”

So, there you have it. Both Begarin and Madar remain guys to continue to monitor overseas. But it seems unlikely that either will be playing in Boston anytime soon. At best, maybe they could be that additional little “something” to juice a trade offer. Even then, that doesn’t seem overly likely. Neither has taken the necessary leap to be at that sort of level.

The good news? Begarin and Madar are just 21 and 22 years old, respectively. There’s still time for both to continue to grow and more improvement should come.

Lastly, according to each scout and front office person we spoke with, don’t expect to see either player in Summer League again. One scout told CelticsBlog, “Been there, done that. Neither guy has anything to gain by playing in Summer League. Outside of dominating, it won’t help them land an NBA spot.”