Chicago Bulls: Lauri Markkanen’s future is in his own handles

The Chicago Bulls cornerstone can find consistency in his handle even though he’s off to a slow start this season through four games.

The biggest issue with Chicago Bulls power forward Lauri Markkanen and his game so far, apart from availability, has been an inability to assert himself on a consistent basis.

Too often the third-year big will float through the Chicago Bulls’ offense, whether it be for stretches or for games at a time. The seven footer will hang around on the perimeter waiting for his teammates to find him on a kick out or rely on putbacks for production.

It is a credit to Markkanen, who can positively impact the game without it being catered to him, but also the biggest knock against him. He cannot find ways to get himself involved in the offense on a nightly basis the way the better scorers of the league can.

The Bulls see him in the mold of giant scorers like Dirk Nowitzki or Kevin Durant, not perimeter  guys like Channing Frye and Ryan Anderson. That’s not to knock Frye and Anderson—the former who enjoyed a healthy NBA career as a reliable role player and locker room glue guy, and the latter who epitomizes modern spacing to its most outlandish degree.

But Markkanen has shown that he can be so much more than that, he just hasn’t been able to do it consistently. Part of that is on his teammates and coaches. Markkanen hasn’t had the veteran playmaking around him to find him the post or get him involved regularly. Fred Hoiberg struggled to get the ball in Markkanen’s hands to the degree he needed to and Jim Boylen has continued that trend.

Those two pitfalls might not change anytime soon. Coby White, Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine all need the ball in their hands to maximize their effectiveness. Boylen is on an extended contract and is still figuring out how to implement an offensive system that both wins the Bulls games now and properly develops Chicago’s young guys.

The key for Markkanen moving forward will be using his handle to get himself involved more. Markkanen is by no means in the same tier of colossal dribblers like Anthony Davis and Karl Anthony-Towns, but he is more than capable of taking most bigs off the dribble. His handle and first step are good enough to blow by posts and leave lagging rotations in his rear view mirror.

On a less in-tune night, Markkanen would hesitate and pass out here. Instead, he recognizes that the defender has overcommitted and immediately puts the ball on the floor. The Charlotte Hornets’ defensive collapse puts Cody Zeller in a tough spot and Markkanen can just rise up for a floater.

The frustrating aspect of games like those against Charlotte is that they show just how good Markkanen can be. The ability to do that every game just isn’t quite there yet.

Markkanen using his handle shouldn’t require Boylen to restructure the offense nor does is require his teammates to learn how to pass into the post (although that should probably happen at some point). It’s a skill that the Finn already has—it’s just a matter of using it.

Finding himself in transition

Apart from attacking closeouts, Boylen’s willingness to let Markkanen take the ball up the floor should help matters—Markkanen is averaging nearly double the amount of transition possessions he had last year, per Synergy.

Chicago’s narrow loss against the Hornets was a showcase in Markkanen’s potential as a weapon with the ball in his hands on the break.

Boylen’s transition empowerment combined with Markkanen’s defensive rebounding is a recipe for more ball handling opportunities for the Arizona product. He’s currently 14th in the league in defensive rebounding and 23rd in defensive rebounding percentage among players averaging 15 minutes or more minutes per game. Those are right in line with his 2018-2019 numbers where he was 17th and 24th, respectively.

Again, Markkanen is aggressive with his dribble, taking time to read the defense, but not shying away from a quick decision to go to the rim.

Markkanen’s size and versatility already make him a nightmare matchup. Transition basketball only complicates things for opposing defenses as the Bulls big can routinely get favorable matchups inside. He forces defenders to either commit to stepping up to him on the perimeter or leaving him open by playing the drive.

While he may continue to pass up chances to attack closeouts, he’s showing more of a willingness to take matters into his own hands on the break. Even if Markkanen isn’t the best option in transition yet—LaVine was the lead man on that front last year and figures to do more damage there again this season—it’s an avenue Chicago needs to send him down more if they want to continue to grow his game.