Analyzing Jurij Macura

October 26^th, 2020

By Alan Lu

This time around, I decided to watch Koper Primorksa’s 6-9, Slovenian big man Jurij Macura play in an Adriatic League game that took place on October 2^nd against FMP Beograd, as I was able to see this with thanks to YouTube via ABA liga j.t.d.  Macura is a mobile, energetic big man that has been playing well overseas recently, and he could project to be a second round prospect for the 2021 draft.  I decided to watch this game to get a feel for what he can do on the court, and to assess his skills.  Here are my thoughts on how he fared on this day, as well as how his game may stack up in the NBA.

Jurij Macura is a mobile big man that had a fairly solid showing in his team’s loss to FMP Beograd.  He showed off versatile scoring skills, he also can handle the ball, and is also active in the passing lanes defensively.  On the downside, he didn’t grab enough rebounds when he was on the court nor take enough shots on offense, and he will need to be a more focused position defender in games.

Macura displayed an adequate ability to knock down jumpers to provide floor spacing for his team on offense.  He was able to make a quick open three off the catch, but he missed on two other occasions when spotting up to take outside shots from beyond the arc.

He also showed a fairly solid ability to score off the dribble as well as in the post.  Macura tended to go to his left to score on strong drives to the hoop, and he has a crafty ball fake move that he can use that allows him to get all the way to the rim.  In addition, he was able to go hard to his left to score on a couple of powerful dunks, and Macura showed that he can take slower-footed big men off the dribble.  Plus, he also scored in the post using a step-through move prior to scoring on a nifty, reverse layup.  He also was adept at drawing fouls upon his defenders to get to the free-throw line, and he was able to do so off of rolls and cuts to the basket.

He also displayed adequate playmaking skills.  Macura is an unselfish player that will look to find the open man, and he also was able to push the ball up the floor to show some ball handling skills.  He also can throw long outlet passes off of defensive rebounds, and he also would set numerous screens for his teammates.  He also managed to set an on-ball screen that helped his teammate score on a jump shot once.  He did commit one turnover, as he tried to weave a tough pass into tight windows that ended up getting intercepted by a defender.

Also, he was able to leap up to get his fair share of boards when he was on the floor, and Macura was fairly active at crashing the defensive glass.  He did manage to bring the ball up once off of a defensive rebound.  Sometimes though, he would get beat to balls, as he would occasionally allow opponents to get rebounds in his area.

On the downside, he will need to improve his defense.  For the positives, Macura will actively play the passing lanes.  He was able to catch an errant pass that was thrown to him to get a steal, and he also will deflect passes and poke balls away to nearly get others.  Plus, he also would contest shots in the post to force some misses.  However, focus can be an issue for Macura on the defensive end.  Sometimes he would be late to get to his man or to make his rotations, which would result in either him or his teammates to commit fouls.  He also would tend to be caught ball watching as he would tend to over-help in the paint, and he would sag too far off of three-point shooters, which would cause him to allow scores to them.  Other times, he had trouble defending opponents in one-on-one situations, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.

In general, Jurij Macura is a skilled big man that can shoot and score the basketball, but he will need to improve his rebounding and defense in the meantime.  He is excelling in professional basketball this season, and that definitely could raise his draft stock.  Right now, he may project to be a second round draft prospect for the 2021 draft.  In a favorable scenario, he could project to be a rotation player similar to former journeyman center, Nenad Krstic in the NBA.

Other Notes:

FMP Beograd’s 6-4 1998-born point guard, Ognjen Carapic from Montenegro had some good moments at times in his team’s win over Koper Primorska.  He is an agile combo guard that showed a decent ability to score the basketball, and he also showed that he can capably run the point.  He struggled to consistently make shots and rarely shot threes in this game, but Carapic showed that he can be a mainstay with his team, and maybe compete for an NBA roster spot sometime in the future.

Carapic showed a decent ability to get scores off the dribble.  He would drive hard to the basket to score on mid-range floaters, though sometimes he would miss on those.  He also utilized a crafty Euro-step move to get a strong score while getting an additional free throw.  Sometimes though, he would miss on tough, contested shots that he would hoist up in traffic.

He also displayed fairly average playmaking skills.  Carapic was able to weave past defenders to kick a ball out to a shooter to notch an assist, and there were times where he showed solid court vision due to his ability to find open shooters on the court.  However, he threw a low, inaccurate entry pass that a teammate dropped out of bounds that led him to commit a turnover.  He also dropped an outlet pass that went to an opponent another time.

Though he didn’t grab many rebounds in this game, Carapic was able to chase down a defensive board to get it, and he then pushed the ball quickly up the floor afterwards.  He also played decent defense.  Carapic is an active defender that will compete hard to help his team get steals and stops on this side of the ball.  He was able to get his hands on a pass to help get a steal once.  When defending an opposing ball handler, he helped force a 24-second shot clock violation early on.  Another time, he got into his opponent’s feet to force his man to miss a three-point shot.  However, sometimes he would get beat off the dribble, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.

Overall, Ognjen Carapic had his ups and downs in his team’s win over Koper Primorska.  While it seems his chances to be drafted by an NBA team in 2020 seem to be unlikely at best, Carapic is a skilled combo guard that has a fairly solid mid-range game and shows the potential to excel at running the team’s offense, and he could end up having a long career in professional basketball.

FMP Beograd’s 6-8, 1998-born Serbian forward, Stefan Djordjevic played well in his team’s win over Koper Primorska.  He is a strong, physical big man that has a solid motor, and he excelled at scoring in the post and at setting screens to help his team on offense.  On one hand, he has been a productive player for his team, and he has excelled in his role overseas. On the other, he’s a below the rim player that doesn’t shoot three-point shots nor defends particularly well, and he is an undersized big man whose game may not fit today’s modern NBA.

Djordevic generally excelled at scoring in the post.  He would score on jump hooks, and he also can score on rolls, tip-ins, and he also threw down a powerful, two-handed dunk to score on a breakaway.  He also managed to score on a mid-range floater.  He did a good job of making his shots efficiently, and Djordevic showed a knack for making shots in the paint.  On the downside, he did not take a three-point shot, but he did show a decent ability to make mid-range jump shots.

However, he was fairly turnover prone in this game.  For the positives, Djordevic set good screens to help his teammates get open jump shots to set up scores for them.  On the downside, he would also tend to set moving screens to commit offensive fouls and turnovers, and he also threw a hasty pass amidst a crowd that got intercepted another time.

He also was able to get his fair share of rebounds, and Djordevic would leap up to get boards on both sides of the ball.  He is quite active at crashing the offensive glass, and he was able to get a couple of offensive rebounds due to possessing a good motor.

Defensively, he looked to be average at best.  Djordevic was able to poke a ball off of a drive to get a steal, and he also would actively defend in the post to help force misses and turnovers.  However, he tended to get beat on moves when defending off the dribble or in the post, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores.  He also struggled to defend screens, as he would sometimes be late on his rotations, other times he would not effectively communicate to his teammates on how to defend them.

Overall, Stefan Djordevic is a productive, undersized big man whose game seems to fit overseas better than the current NBA game.  He is a 6-8 post player that excels at scoring on the block and off of energy plays, but he doesn’t really look to take threes or score on isolation plays off the dribble very much.  He also struggled to defend in space, and he is a below average athlete that doesn’t run or jump well, which may hurt his ability to score or defend at that level.  He’s an unlikely bet to be drafted by an NBA team in 2020, but Djordevic’s ability to score inside the paint will likely enable him to a long and productive career overseas in professional basketball.

Koper Primorska’s 6-5, 2001-born Slovenian point guard, Rok Nemanic showed glimpses of his potential, but put forth an uneven showing in his team’s loss to FMP Beograd.  He is an agile, combo guard that can get scores off the dribble, and he can reliably run the team.  However, he struggled with his jump shot and defense in this game.

In this game, Nemanic showed a decent ability to score off the dribble.  He was able to drive hard to the hoop to get a quick score, and he also used a pump fake to make a pull-up mid-range jumper another time.  Late in the game, he drove in to score on a breakaway dunk in transition.  However, he missed on all three of his three-point shots that he hoisted up from beyond the arc, and he generally did not have a great feel for his jump shot in this game.

He also displayed decent playmaking skills.  Nemanic is an unselfish player that excelled at throwing interior passes to find teammates on the move, and he is a patient player that can get his teammates the basketball.  On the downside, he would sometimes get his passes deflected or get the ball poked away when handling it, as there were numerous times where he nearly turned the ball over.

Though he didn’t grab many rebounds in this game, Nemanic was able to chase down a ball to get an offensive board for his team.  However, late in the game, he missed a defensive board that was in his area, as his team later allowed a put back score.

However, he will need to improve his defense.  For the positives, Nemanic is an active help defender that would run to spots to jump passes to help his team get steals.  He also managed to contest a deep three to force a miss, and he also fought through a screen to stay with an opposing ball handler another time.  However, he would tend to get beat off the dribble, which would lead him to commit fouls and allow scores, and he does not possess elite lateral quickness to stay in front of quicker players.  He also would get outmuscled when defending in the post or on screens, and he also would sometimes be too late to rotate to his man. Overall, Rok Nemanic is a mobile, skilled combo guard that can get to the rim to get points and assists for his team, but he will need to improve his jump shot, decision-making skills, and his defense.  He will need more seasoning to continue to hone his game, but he may be a prospect to keep tabs on in the future.