The Lauri Markkanen Thread

[nuraman00]

Does that height make him an easier target, or give him good gun shooting abilities?

 

[MHSL82]

I know one can slip in the shower. I know that one can get injured trying to avoid injury. And I get that one would want to represent their country. But I don’t like these friendly games where there’s more wear and tear on the body for a game that doesn’t count for qualification for the Olympics and risks injury. But I know he also was serving in the military and so he would not have had his normal off-season routine. Yes, a lot of conditioning, but less basketball.

 

[nuraman00]

I know one can slip in the shower.

A little over a month ago, I was at a hotel. I got out of the shower, then had my tablet in my hand, and slipped.

Luckily nothing broke. Not on my body, nor my electronic device.

Maybe you should mention slipping on the bathroom floor.

 

[MHSL82]

https://x.com/utahjazz/status/1721734845573828992?s=20

 

[nuraman00]

It's kind of cool, but hard to appreciate when the Jazz have lost 5 out of 7 games; with 3 losses being by at least 17 points, and 4 losses being by at least 8 points.

Markkanen has shot 59/123 in that span, 47.98%.

He has shot 32/72, 44.444%, in 3-point %.

Markkanen is 23/26 on FTs in that span, 88.46%.

 

[MHSL82]

It's kind of cool, but hard to appreciate when the Jazz have lost 5 out of 7 games; with 3 losses being by at least 17 points, and 4 losses being by at least 8 points.

Markkanen has shot 59/123 in that span, 47.98%.

He has shot 32/72, 44.444%, in 3-point %.

Markkanen is 23/26 on FTs in that span, 88.46%.

So far we have switched 2022 and 2023. We were supposed to do poorly last year and do better this year. I feel that if we did what we’re doing now last year and then did what we did last year this year, there would be no resting players at the end of the season and so we would maybe get to .500. Last year, we did not get to .500 in part because we weren’t good enough but also because we decided to no longer try to get there. And still no Wemby.

 

[nuraman00]

Progress is usually not linear.

This season could still be non linear progress, or it could be regress.

 

[MHSL82]

Lauri Markkanen named Finland’s Athlete of the Year

www.slcdunk.com

 

[nuraman00]

I was just thinking that Markkanen has finally been playing like The Finnisher, and that he should earn player of the week.

After I thought that, I typed his name and found he actually just won!

"Help the Team" — Markkanen Named NBA's Western Conference Player of the Week for First Time in Career

www.nba.com

 

[MHSL82]

 

[nuraman00]

Markkanen will get zero players of the week this year.

He's only had 3 good games all year. Good is 51% FG, 8 rebounds.

Lauri Markkanen 2024-25 Game Log | Basketball-Reference.com

Get Lauri Markkanen's 2024-25 game by game stats along with wins and losses stats on Basketball-Reference.com

www.basketball-reference.com

Waive him, if that's how he plays.

Last year he had 12 good games.

The year before he had 16.

 

[MHSL82]

The Jazz got fined for resting Markkanen last week. I think that’s stupid because we are 8–36 with him and 7–15 this year. And out of the eight wins, he was only key in about four of them.

 

[nuraman00]

And out of the eight wins, he was only key in about four of them.

That's been my complaint this season. He is playing so far below an All-Star level.

Not worth keeping if this is what he is.

 

[nuraman00]

The Jazz got fined for resting Markkanen last week.

That'll learn 'em.

(Said in various video games).

 

[MHSL82]

That's been my complaint this season. He is playing so far below an All-Star level.

Not worth keeping if this is what he is.

I wonder if tanking is affecting him? Obviously he’s not going to try to perform poorly for the good of the team or anything and he knows he can’t be traded this year because of his contract so it’s not insecurity. I don’t think that he’s just resting on his laurels either.

But I do think he’ll be used differently because they are trying to develop other players. But the problem is is shooting percentage. I think that when you were talking about him being 49.9 or something instead of 50, I shrugged because there’s so many good shooters who don’t shoot that percentage and there were so many shots that were not typical of someone in his height years ago. I know he doesn’t apply anymore because everyone’s a three-point shooter it seems, but having a near 50% is pretty good when you shoot threes as well and you’re a big man who doesn’t shoot only layups.

I want reliable. Obviously I’d rather have a 25 point scorer who is less reliable than a two point score who is reliable, but you know what I mean. What we think is going to come out of him should come out and if that’s not good enough, we adjust.

And if we’re not going to use him in ways that better other players development, then we should have traded him when his value was high. We of course would say this is why we can’t have good things, but whatever. But keeping him and losing, but not being the worst team is a waste of course, unless our turnaround is quicker than we think and we keep them for that turnaround. I always believe that when we get the good players, we will want him to be our second or third or fourth player and if we traded him, we would say that we didn’t have that guy.

 

[nuraman00]

The way Markkanen played in his All-Star year I was fine with him being a #1. He could be our Tyrese Haliburton, Trae Young, Scottie Barnes, Paolo Banchero.

Not a regular ALL NBA player, but someone I believed could win some series.

I do think they're trying to develop other players. But if Markkanen is really that guy, then he'd be fitting in with them. Atlanta and Toronto are developing younger players, but Trae Young and Scottie Barnes are still playing well. Zion Williamson plays well for a tanking Pelicans team.

Also, in addition to his poor shooting this year, 42%, 6.1 rebounds a game for a 7 footer is pathetic.

A lot of people criticized Brook Lopez when he'd average 6 rebounds a game for New Jersey., But I was ok with that, because Lopez was also averaging two blocks a game.

Markkanen is not that impactful on defense. So he has to rebound, in order to provide enough impact to help the team.

 

[nuraman00]

I think that when you were talking about him being 49.9 or something instead of 50

I yearned for him to have 50%+ because I knew if he had reached that, it would be historic.

We'd be saying things like only these few players in league history have averaged that many ppg, rebounds, 3's, FT%, and FG%.