Chicago Bulls: 5 goals for Lauri Markkanen in the 2020-21 season

Lauri Markkanen’s fifth goal: Be more aggressive on offense

Even with the progression of Coby White and Wendell Carter Jr., along with the addition of Otto Porter Jr., Markkanen is still clearly Chicago’s second-best player behind Zach LaVine. Even after a third season that saw a significant drop in production when compared to the previous year, there’s no denying that the Bulls would be doing themselves a disservice not to empower Markkanen to flourish as an individual.

One area that can be immediately addressed is his offensive assertiveness. In his second season, Lauri looked for his own shot to the tune of 15.3 field goal attempts per game. Last season that dropped to 11.8 field goal attempts per game. Sure, Coby White’s ability to score and Otto Porter’s ability to score may have caused Markkanen to defer but that trend cannot continue if Chicago wants a shot at making the playoffs next season.

At the very least, Markkanen must return to taking as many shots per game as he did during his second campaign. An athletic seven-footer who can shoot from deep and is comfortable going to the rim off the dribble is the kind of player opposing coaches should lose sleep over. Last season there were too many games when Markkanen let opposing teams off the hook by not realizing that he poses a match-up nightmare for them.

The Chicago Bulls are a proud franchise and no one in the organization wants to go a fourth straight season without making the playoffs. Markkanen has the tools to be an All-Star. If the Bulls are to reach their potential as a unit, he’s going to have to understand what he brings to the table and assert himself. He’s shown the ability to produce before. The only thing missing has been consistency. The time for excuses is over. The time for Lauri Markkanen to realize his potential is now.