4. Reliable from deep
Lauri Markkanen is going to have a lot more room now to make things happen in the front court and help space the floor since fellow forwards Bobby Portis and Jabari Parker are now with the Wizards. The usage rate for Markkanen, slightly under 25 percent, could skyrocket in the upcoming games.
The usage rates for Portis and Parker in their latter games with the Bulls were through the roof compared to how much the ball should be in their hands. Granted, Portis did have a big performance in his Wizards debut. Portis tried to prove that the Bulls immediately made the wrong move by dishing him out to the nation’s capital.
However, Portis wasn’t worth the money the Bulls would’ve had to shell out to keep him this off-season. Markkanen fits better for the direction the Bulls seem to be heading in, which is the complete opposite of what the team tried to do under former head coach Tom Thibodeau. The acquisition of Porter Jr. puts that fact on display.
Markkanen is the perfect player to build a front court around since he is starting to be able to hit his pull-up shots from almost anywhere on the floor. Not only is he shooting more from deep this season, he’s more efficient. Markkanen is hitting 39.3 percent of his looks from beyond the arc, while taking more than eight three-point attempts per game.