NBA: Ranking the league's best third options

NBA: Ranking the league’s best third options

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Lauri Markkanen (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

NBA: Ranking the league’s best third options: 20. Lauri Markkanen, Cleveland Cavaliers

It wasn’t the start that many were expecting from the Cleveland Cavaliers, and we mean that in a good way. With seven wins in their first 11 games, many weren’t expecting the Cavs to win seven games until the first half of 2022.

Still, while we can talk all day about their newfound success, we’re here to discuss their third-best scoring option. That would be none other than Lauri Markkanen.

Now technically, Markkanen isn’t even their third-best scorer on paper but that’s a bit of a formality. The talented big man is certainly a better scorer than Ricky Rubio, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley. The former is a pass-first player and the two big guys get the majority of their buckets off lobs and easy plays around the rim.

Markkanen creates many of his own shots and he’s pretty efficient while doing so. Well, at least he normally is. Markkanen is off to a pretty slow start this year. He’s averaging career lows of 12.9 points, 36.1% from the field, and only 28% from behind the arc. Regardless of his terrible shooting numbers, he’s normally a knockdown shooter and more than capable of putting the ball on the floor.

Markkanen has a ton of potential but until he starts reaching it, we can’t consider him amongst the best third options in the league.