2. Continue to only rely on shot creation from inside the arc
As time moves along, it is becoming abundantly clear that Markkanen is going to be a rhythm shooter that does not create his own looks from beyond the three-point line. Of the three-point field goals he made in the season that was, a career-high 99.1 percent of those were assisted. He has always had a lot of his three-point attempts assisted, but never that many in his previous two years in the league.
Markkanen does get a bit more proficient at creating his own looks when he’s within 6-10 feet, at the furthest, from the rim. But only 46.4 percent of his field goal attempts last season came from two-point range. He is hitting his two-pointers off no dribbles at a clip of 63.6 percent and his with seven+ dribbles at 53.8 percent.
Although when Markkanen starts to hesitate and he’s draped with defenders, then his shooting percentages really start to falter. He hit his pull-up two-point field goal attempts last season at a clip of just under 24.0 percent. And his two-point field goal percentage drops below 44.0 percent when he takes between two-to-six dribbles.
When he’s in a better rhythm and is allowed to have confidence as either a secondary ball handler, or a catch-and-shoot stretch big threat, Markkanen starts to do his best work. He found himself more in that role two seasons ago, when he also was two-percent better than the league average in three-point shooting percentage and 14.0 percent better from the free-throw line.
Draw up more plays for Markkanen where he has a clearly defined role, and make sure he’s got a player on the floor that is going to space it out for him and not place an over-reliance on his creating ability.