Chicago Bulls: 5 takeaways from first 2 weeks of 2017-18 season

2. Lauri Markkanen exceeding expectations

Although Lauri Markkanen had a decent Summer League and raised his stock during EuroBasket 2017, many wondered if the would be able to hold his own against NBA-level competition.

In a word: Absolutely.

For starters, Markkanen is the team’s second-leading scorer, averaging 15.6 points per contest. Additionally, the rookie forward has established himself as a legitimate floor-spacer, knocking down 42 percent of his attempts from 3-point range.

On top of that, Markkanen also leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 9.6 boards per game and he is second behind Holiday in minutes, averaging 32.2 minutes per outing. To date, his best game of the season took place on Oct. 24 against the Cavaliers.

In that outing, Markkanen finished with 19 points and eight rebounds on 7-for-12 shooting overall and an efficient 5-for-8 effort from 3-point range, drawing praise from one the league’s top stars.

"“Very confident,” LeBron James told ESPN. “Watched him a lot at Arizona. Watched him a lot. He wore my shoe a couple times … he wore my retro Brons a couple times. I like that. I had to stay up very late to watch those Arizona games. A very confident kid, shoots the heck out of the ball. He’s going to continue to get better. The best thing about it is he’s getting an opportunity. If he makes mistakes, he can learn on the fly, but he’s going to play a lot. He’s good. It seems like he’s learning. He’s a good player.”"

It’s still early in the season, but as long as Markkanen continues to get consistent playing time, the sky is the limit for this young man.