Lauri Legend: What is Markkanen’s Ceiling?
The Finnisher is having yet another strong season. Where can he go from here?
Any Bulls fan you ask would tell you that Lauri Markkanen is special. The 7 footer from Finland has shown nothing but promise during his first two seasons in the NBA. He earned a spot on the 2017-2018 All-Rookie First Team, as well as a spot on the Rising Stars World Team–a game meant to showcase the best rookie and sophomore players. Markkanen will also be featured in this year’s Rising Stars Game. He’s one of the best 3 point shooting big-men in the league and already a Top 15 player at his natural position, power forward. You could argue Top 10, but I’ll leave that for another time. Bottom line is, he’s already off to a great start. He can only go up from here.
Without a doubt, Lauri Markkanen will be a multiple time All-Star. His main competition, Kristaps Porzingis, was just shipped westward and there aren’t enough players to stand in his way. He’s already one of the best power forwards in the conference, only trailing Blake Griffin, Kevin Love, and newly acquired Sixer Tobias Harris–who very well might not be in the East for long. Lauri might make his push for the All-Star game as soon as next year. If he continues to pattern the career of the Great Dirk Nowitzki, Lauri could officially break the mold as a 20 points per game scorer next season. I think he’ll do it to. There isn’t anything holding him back, expect maybe coaching, but the Bulls will figure that out. From All-Star selection comes to All-NBA Selections. There is a possibility that Lauri reaches that level, likely not the 1st team, but the 2nd or 3rd.
He’ll be Top 5 at his position in the league someday.
The Markksman will need help to reach that status in the league someday though. Here’s what needs to happen:
Leadership
Lauri has to establish himself as the 1st option on the Bulls. He is the franchise cornerstone. He has the mentality to not stop shooting even when shots aren’t falling at first, which is great, but he as to become the Alpha Dog. Markkanen got a little behind in that race after the elbow injury that sidelined him for the first 23 games of the year. This allowed Zach LaVine to seemingly overtake the role. Lauri has to take it back. It will take LaVine recognizing it too. A pick and roll or pick and pop from LaVine and Markkanen should be near unstoppable. Zach’s ability to find Lauri open consistently would be huge for his development. Lauri is open so many times during games and players miss it and it is EXTREMELY frustrating. One of his nicknames is “The Markksman” for a reason. He usually doesn’t miss. So he becomes the number one option, then what?
Coaching
Having a coach that would base the offense around Markkanen would be phenomenal. Jim Boylen shouldn’t be around next year, and bringing in a solid coach to focus on Lauri would be ideal. Need to have the best surrounding environment to get the best out of a player. The Bulls should look into that.
Development
Lauri is more than a 3 point shooter, though that is still–and always will be–the strongest part of his game. However, Markkanen has proven to be more than that. More and more this year, fans are getting to see a player that drives through traffic in the paint, a better rebounder, possibly even a slightly better defender. His post game is slowly coming along. He isn’t a one trick pony. In fact Lauri may be the most versatile player on the roster. He can guard some of the best small forwards in the league (Kevin Durant), he can play the 4 great, and can also be an effective 5 in small-ball lineups. The more the rest of the game of his game develops, the better he’ll be. Lauri Markkanen could become one of the most unguardable bigs in the league. It might not seem like it now, but he has shown flashes. Knocking down 40% of his threes on his way to 17 points a night is a good start. His rebounding has also improved, sitting at 8.1 on the year, however he is in the midst of having the best rebounding stretch of his career. Lauri has racked up 15, 19, 13, 9, and 10 rebound respectively over the last 5 games. He has been borderline dominant in these performances.
To close this out, Markkanen doesn’t really have a ceiling. He could be the best power forward in the league at some point throughout his career. He has that potential. There is no doubt in my mind that he’ll be up there with the best. Perhaps he’ll be a HOFer. Nobody knows for sure.
What is sure, is that Bulls fans should continue having excitment for this kid. He’s special. Maybe one day he’ll give TRUE meaning to the name “Lauri Legend.”
Featured Image: Me. @TheVikingsPhan on Twitter
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