Chicago Bulls: Player grades through the All-Star break
By Luke Askew
Lauri Markkanen
Despite a shaky start, the young fella from Finland is having a phenomenal sophomore season. Markkanen missed the first chunk of games due to an untimely elbow injury, but his return to the court has been extremely encouraging.
On the season, Markkanen is averaging a cool 18.5 points per game on 43.7 percent shooting from the field and 38.3 percent shooting from 3-point territory to go along with 8.8 rebounds. He’s been one of the lone bright spots in Chicago this year.
Markkanen’s ability to pick-and-pop for spot-up 3s or take his defender off the dribble has made him incredibly difficult to guard – especially since he stands at 7′ tall.
Not only has Lauri had a nice response to his impressive rookie season, but he’s evolved as a player. Lately, he’s been grabbing rebounds and bringing the ball up. This leaves opposing defenses scrambling to matchup in transition as a 7-footer runs the ball up the court with two athletic wings filling the lanes. Markkanen’s done a nice job of making the correct decisions out of these transition situations. He’s often able to make a pass that leads to a bucket, or take the ball all the way to the basket and finish around defenders with his patented drag-step layup.
He’s a matchup nightmare and a future All-Star. The Bulls have a good one in Lauri Markkanen.
Grade: A