November 30th2023
By Alan Lu
Recently, I decided to take some time to watch Serbian 6-6 guard Nikola Topic play on October 16th.th Mega Basket match against FMP Beograd, thanks to YouTube via ABA Liga jtd He played very well, as he recorded a double-double to help his team get the victory. Here are my thoughts on how he performed as well as how other prospects performed in this matchup.
Nikola Topic is a very talented guard who can score and pass the basketball, and he could end up being drafted in the 2024 NBA Draft lottery.
(Photo: Aleksandar Dmitrijević/Sportal)
Topic Nikola put in a strong performance to help his team secure victory against FMP Beograd. He is a quick and agile playmaker who can score and make plays with the basketball. Topic did a very good job scoring on strong, aggressive attacks towards the hoop. He has a quick first step and showed good balance, body control and finishing ability to score consistently at the rim. He can use dribbling moves to get past his man, and he’s also shown the ability to finish in traffic. At times he forced the play a little too much, as he occasionally missed when he didn’t get fouled, but he generally showed strong scoring ability when driving to the basket.
He also showed adequate ability to knock down jumpers. Although he struggled to make threes consistently, he was able to nail a deep three late in the game. He also managed to knock down a floater after driving to his left another time.
Additionally, he also showed strong playing skills in this match. Topic showed a knack for making quick, accurate passes while dribbling, and he constantly found open teammates on the move to rack up assists. He was able to make wraparound passes, and he could also throw long passes to find his teammates in stride. He didn’t commit many turnovers, but every now and then he attempted passes that would end up being intercepted.
Although he didn’t get many rebounds in this game, he was able to chase down balls to get a pair of defensive boards, and he managed to push the pace for a defensive rebound once. Defensively, he seemed perhaps above average. Topic was able to leap to deflect an incoming pass and almost get a steal. He also made a more concerted effort to contest outside shots and close out shooters to force misses. However, sometimes he didn’t move his feet very well and got pushed back when dribbling, leading him to commit fouls and give up scores. Other times he played too aggressively, leading him to find himself out of defensive position.
In summary, Nikola Topic is an athletic and skilled guard who can function as a primary ball handler, and he is a gifted playmaker who can score and facilitate to help his team on offense. He will need to continue to work on his defense, but his strong offensive skills could allow him to be a lottery pick for an NBA team in the 2024 draft.
The 6-10 Croatian center of Mega Basket, Andrija Jelavic played quite well to help his team achieve victory. He is a mobile, energetic big man who excelled in hustle plays, and he defended especially well when he was on the field.
Jelavic defended very well in this match. He showed a knack for blocking three-point shots with his length, strong athleticism and timing, and he was also able to get his hands on a pass to help his team steal. He also used his length to contest jump shots to force misses. Occasionally he would play too aggressively, leading him to find himself out of position, but in general, Jelavic excelled at playing to help his team defensively.
Additionally, he also did a decent job rebounding the basketball, and sometimes he would bring the ball up the floor after getting defensive boards. Jelavic also showed a knack for scoring on choppy plays. He was able to make free throws by running the floor to place the ball in transition, as well as making a backdoor cut. He was also open around the hoop and was able to score on a solid dunk. He missed once on a drive in transition, but it looked like it should have been the goalie instead. He also missed an open three-pointer, but he showed a willingness to make that shot in this game.
As a point guard, he seemed average at best. He showed he can handle the ball in the open field. Jelavic was also able to throw a quick pass to find a teammate around the basket in transition late in this game. However, he also committed a few turnovers. He threw a weak pass that was knocked away and intercepted. He also dribbled too much and ended up losing the ball to commit another turnover.
Overall, Jelavic had a pretty solid performance and he made a lot of very solid defensive plays to help his team get the win in this game. He will need to develop his offensive skills and assert himself more on offense, but his size, athleticism and defensive skills could make him an option for NBA teams to consider in the second round of the 2024 draft.
Belgrade FMP Nikola Saranovic is an agile 6-7 forward who excelled as a spot-up shooter, and he was able to run to collect a tipped ball to knock down three quickly on the one-time catch. He also got the ball back to make three more quickly, and he showed promise as a motion shooter in this game. However, he didn’t make many shots and he didn’t really show much ability to create his own shot on offense.
He showed he was willing to pass, but he threw a rushed interior pass that was intercepted once. Saranovic showed a decent ability to rebound the basketball and he was chasing down balls to help his team get defensive boards. He also played decent defense. Saranovic showed a knack for jumping passes to get steals. However, he tended to help his man too much, and he was late to rotate or contest a three-point shot once, leading to his team giving up the basket.
Overall, Saranovic is an agile and capable swingman who played pretty well, even if he didn’t really shoot the ball much in this game. He could project into a 3D role and showed promise as a motion shooter at higher levels. He’ll need to be more assertive on offense and continue to improve defensively, but if he continues to progress and hone his game, he could one day become an effective role player in the NBA.
Mega Basket’s 6-5 Slovak guard, Timotej Malovec played quite well in his team’s victory against FMP Beograd. He played particularly well on offense, as he made all his shots. He showed a knack for scoring on aggressive left-handed drives to the hoop. He also had three open runs on the catch. On the other hand, there was a play where he telegraphed an entry pass that ended up being intercepted.
He didn’t grab any rebounds in this game. Defensively, he seemed perhaps above average. He was getting his hands on passes to help his team get steals and deflections, and he was also quick to fight through screens. He also contested shots in practice to help his team force misses. On the other hand, he would play too aggressively, which would lead him to find himself out of position, which would lead him to commit fouls and give up scores.
Overall, Malovec had a good performance in this match. Although he didn’t make many shots on offense, he was very effective at making them in this game, and he is a fairly athletic and energetic guard who can score the basketball. He’ll need to improve his passing ability and be more disciplined defensively, but his ability to contribute on both ends of the court could make him an option for NBA teams to consider in the mid to late second round in a future NBA draft.
Nikola Djurisic did not play very well in his team’s victory against FMP Beograd in this match. Although he showed some playmaking and rebounding skills, he was held scoreless and had defensive issues. Although he showed some ability to commit non-shooting fouls when handling the ball and driving to the rim, Djurisic had a tendency to make difficult, off-balance shots, which would lead to awkward misses. He also didn’t attempt a three-pointer in this game and was too passive on offense.
He has shown solid playmaking skills. He has done a good job completing an assortment of passes, as he can pass off the dribble and find moving teammates to consistently bring them the basketball and assists . However, during one play, while handling the ball, the ball slipped out of his hands, causing him to turn it over.
Djurisic did a decent job returning the basketball, and sometimes he would bring the ball up after shooting defensive boards. Defensively, he struggled in this match. He sometimes made defensive mistakes, and other times took bad gambles that led to him being out of position. He would also sometimes make things worse by committing fouls, losing focus, and tending to arrive too late to defend three-point shooters defensively.
Overall, Djurisic didn’t play very well in this match. He’s an athletic forward who can create his own shot, but he didn’t do a great job asserting himself in this game against FMP Beograd, and he’ll need to improve his jump shot and defense. Currently, he projects to be a second-round prospect for the 2024 draft.
Overall, these are my thoughts on how Topic and other prospects fared in this game. Thanks for reading.
