NBA recap: One-and-done rule, Blazers’ potential and more

Lauri Markkanen is figuring some things out

The Chicago Bulls are rarely spoken about in a positive light. They have the fourth-worst record in the NBA at 16-45 and came into the season with expectations to be this bad. They underwent a coaching change midseason, which caused a separate bit of negative news, and have one of the worst rosters in the NBA. But there is one player that points to better times.

Lauri Markkanen, the second-year forward from Finland, is on a scoring tear. The Finnisher has scored 20-plus points in nine consecutive games, averaging 26.4 points and 12.4 rebounds per game over that stretch. He’s led the Bulls to wins over the Boston Celtics (35 points and 15 rebounds) and the Brooklyn Nets (31 points and 18 rebounds).

Markkanen was a gifted shooter coming into the NBA, and this season his numbers reflect somebody finding his stroke in the league. He’s shooting 38.3 percent on 6.7 3-point attempts per game for the season. But scoring in different ways would always determine his ceiling as a player, and he is showing more of these flashes.

Here’s a clip of Markkanen reading a pick-and-roll, slipping the screen into vacant space and finishing with a floater over a shot-blocker.

Taking defenders of even size off the bounce is not something we consistently see from him, but he does so here against Nikola Mirotic with a tough finish in the paint. Mirotic closes out too hard, so Markkanen simply ball fakes and attacks the rim.

Late in the game, he has one of the NBA’s best defenders in Marcus Smart in his face and makes a tough 3-pointer anyway.

These three clips show the main aspects that will make Lauri Markkanen a great scorer. Attacking closeouts, pick-and-popping and shooting over smaller defenders in big moments of games are signs he is growing as a scorer, which has to put a smile on Bulls fans’ faces.