Yam

Madar

Having lost to Poland on Saturday, Israel entered Sunday’s game against France needing a win to improve its chances of advancing out of the group stage. They got the job done, thanks to the offensive production of Avdija and former Boston Celtics draft pick Yam Madar (17/4/3/2 with two three-pointers) and the decision to switch to a 2-3 zone during the second half. Israel turned a 10-point deficit into an 82-69 victory, holding France without a point for more than four minutes during the fourth quarter.

Both Madar and Begarin, second round picks in 2020 and 2021, respectively, were a part of the Celtics’ Summer League team. The former recently signed a three-year deal with Partizan Belgrade, while the latter played for Paris Basketball last season. Boston’s perimeter rotation was already a bit loaded, so it would have been difficult for either Madar or Begarin to crack the rotation as rookies.

Selected with the 47th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, Madar remained with Hapoel Tel Aviv this season. In 30 Israeli Super League games, he averaged 17.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.8 3-pointers per, while shooting 46.9% from the field and 82.8% from the foul line. Madar’s goal is to show in Las Vegas that he should be on the Celtics roster for the 2021-22 season. But that would likely require a buyout of some sort, as he will be under contract at Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Madar has been praised for his feel for the game as a young point guard, as he plays with pace and has both the vision and ball-handling ability needed to put his teammates in spots where they can be at their best. Defensively Madar’s lateral quickness is evident, but he will need to add some strength in preparation for the NBA. A question worth asking is how much his buyout is, as Madar and Hapoel agreed to a four-year deal in June 2018. Boston is stacked right now and short of roster spots so we expect this to be a draft-and-stash pick.

The 6'3", 19-year-old Israeli point guard is expected to go in the second round. In the U20 2019 FIBA event, he averaged 15.9 points, 7.7 boards and 3.1 boards over those seven games.