EuroBasket 2017: Lauri Markkanen closes out group stage with a bang

Lauri Markkanen’s play as of late not only in EuroBasket 2017, but late in games period has been encouraging for Chicago Bulls fans to witness. That trend continued on Wednesday against Iceland when Markkanen helped slam the door on a potential upset.

Through one half of play on Wednesday against Iceland in the final group stage game for Finland at EuroBasket 2017, Chicago Bulls rookie Lauri Markkanen had only logged 7:30 of game time. It took a Sasu Salin half-court prayer at the first half buzzer to give Finland a lead.

It made a little sense. Finland had already clinched a spot into the tournament’s knockout round, so why risk the 20-year-old’s health in a seemingly meaningless game? He’s already played 29.5 minutes a game in the previous four games, so why bother?

The third quarter didn’t really change much for Finland after some more second quarter struggles in the tournament, resulting in just 10 points in the quarter and trailing 59-52 after three quarters of play to the Icelanders.

Then, the Finns woke up.

Salin continued to shoot the lights out of the arena, going 5-for-8 from the 3-point line on the day and Finland clawed right back into the game as crunch time approached. Salin’s fifth 3-pointer — his third of the quarter alone — gave Finland a 69-67 lead with 5:20 left to go.

That’s all that Lauri Markkanen needed to finish off Iceland.

With 3:15 left, Markkanen made a good read from the right wing and received a good bounce pass on his cut to the basket for a slam to put the Finns up 73-71. It was the type of plays he’s been making throughout this whole tournament that earned him the “Magic Markkanen” nickname from the ESPN stream commentating booth.

On the very next possession, Markkanen drew a foul and hit two free throws to put Finland up 75-71 with 2:48 left.

Then came the dagger.

Markkanen set the screen to engage the pick-and-pop that got him a completely open look. He missed, but just like Salin did in the entire fourth quarter for Finland, he made the play they needed. Salin got the offensive rebound, kicked it to Teemu Rannikko, who made a good drive to draw the Iceland defense in for Markkanen to throw the final dagger into the Icelanders.

Finland was able to hold off Iceland and finish the group stage of EuroBasket at 4-1 in Group A with their lone loss coming in a tight one to Goran Dragic, Luka Doncic and Slovenia.

Notables before Markkanen and Finland play in the knockout stage

• Finland’s next game is Saturday, Sept. 5 against Italy in EuroBasket 2017’s Round of 16. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:45 CT and you can watch that game on the WatchESPN app.
• Here’s Markkanen’s final numbers from the EuroBasket group stage for Finland: 22.6 points on 55.1 percent shooting overall, 6.2 rebounds, 50 percent from 3 on 4.4 attempts per game and 89.7 percent shooting from the line.
  • Bleacher Report‘s Andy Bailey noted Markkanen’s per-36 numbers in the group stage against another exciting European prospect: current New York Knicks big man Kristaps Porzingis.

If you want stock in Lauri Markkanen, it might not be a bad idea to buy it now.

• Markkanen hasn’t been perfect. There’s been some struggles establishing post position and being strong on the blocks, protecting the ball, being in the right place defensively and being a better rim protector on defense.
  • Still, his performance has much more positives than negatives. He’s been Finland’s best player so far and has become a Finnish folk hero already among their fans.
• What’s been really encouraging to see has been Markkanen’s play late in the games. Like many, I’m excited to see Netflix release The Punisher series for the world to see. Markkanen has earned a similar nickname: “The Finnisher”. He’s been so good down the stretch of games. He’s basically the go-to guy for Finland in this tournament.

Finland still has plenty left they can accomplish, which means more opportunities for Markkanen to show that maybe the Bulls didn’t folly this top-10 draft pick after all.

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We’re still a long way from having a clear answer, but for right now, this kid looks like he’s going to be a good one and it’s really showing.