Chicago Bulls: What’s wrong with Lauri Markkanen?

How the Chicago Bulls fared so far

The argument that the Chicago Bulls are almost better off without Markkanen on the floor at the moment holds truth to it. He shot 4-of-10 from the field and 1-of-5 from three-point range in the win over the Knicks on Nov. 12. But he also had a team-high six turnovers in the win over the Knicks.

It was more a product of the situation than anything else why Markkanen emerged with a positive net rating in that game. His net rating was at least a -9 or worse in five of the 11 games the Bulls played in this season. He’s got to have a net-positive impact at the very least.

However, a down night from Markkanen shouldn’t takeaway from how big that win over the Knicks was in general. The Bulls entered last night with a record of 3-7 and were starting to fall well behind the Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Central Division. It’s a good thing the Eastern Conference is so wide open this season.

The best game that Markkanen had for the Bulls this season was in that season opening loss to the Hornets. Outside of that, he did look good with 17 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three blocks in a 20-point road win over the upstart Atlanta Hawks. In the other two wins, over the Memphis Grizzlies and Detroit Pistons, Markkanen wasn’t very good.