Chicago Bulls: Is Lauri Markkanen finally finding his rhythm?

Most of the discussion involving fourth-year Chicago Bulls power forward Lauri Markkanen of late had to do with criticism of his game since he got moved to a reserve role. With Markkanen now sitting in the midst of the final year of his rookie deal, this is a critical time for him to step up his game. But since the second half of the regular season slate arrived, first-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls have really got anything but the best out of the Finnish seven-footer.

Since the All-Star Break let out last month, Markkanen actually regressed in a few areas. Consistent offensive production has gone out the window, and he’s commonly getting blown by on defensive assignments he should be able to handle easily given his length and overall gifted physical tools. The defense has emerged as a real problem, along with the nagging injury issues that Bulls fans are familiar with throughout his career.

However, in the last two or three games, the Bulls actually got some better two-way play out of Markkanen off the bench. And two of those games did at least result in big Bulls wins that provided a glimpse for a short period of time at how good this team actually could be.

Lauri Markkanen finally in rhythm for the Chicago Bulls?

In their loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on April 21, Markkanen was arguably the most efficient player for the Bulls. He registered a team-high 16 points off the bench while shooting an efficient 5-of-7 from the field, 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 2-of-2 from the free-throw line.

Markkanen had a solid mix in the April 21 tough road loss to the divisional foe Cavs of getting in the lane and finding his rhythm from beyond the arc. That is the type of comfort and confidence that Markkanen should have night in and night out.

To go along with his 16 points in the loss to the Cavs, Markkanen posted two rebounds, one assist, and had no turnovers.

This wasn’t the first solid performance for Markkanen of late either. Markkanen was solid for the Bulls in each of the past three games. In their two-game winning streak they had built up earlier in the week with defeats of the Cavs at home on April 17 and the Boston Celtics on the road on April 19, Markkanen combined for 25 points, 11 rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one block.

More importantly, Markkanen found himself in rhythm shooting from the field, from downtown, and from the charity stripe in this trio of key games. He’s shot 15-of-28 from the field and 8-of-15 from beyond the arc in the Bulls’ last three games.

If this is a sign that the Bulls are going to get more consistent offensive production from Markkanen down the stretch this season, that will be great news for Donovan. Since landing the star center Nikola Vucevic from the Orlando Magic at the trade deadline, Markkanen has not played particularly well. And his playing time took a significant dip since March 25.

Next up for Markkanen and the Bulls following their April 21 loss to the Cavs is a meeting at home at the United Center with the injured Charlotte Hornets in the back end of back-to-back games on April 22. The Bulls will carry a record of 24-34 into this home meeting with the Hornets.