How could it have been otherwise? To conclude his match close to perfection, Lauri Markkanen inherited the ball at 132-131 to score the winning basket. The Finn then managed to thwart a two-man take to find himself face to face with Devin Booker and punish him with a “Nowitzkiesque” shot at half distance.
Author of 38 points at 15/18 in shooting, Lauri Markkanen was still brilliant, signing his career record in points with the victory as a bonus, 134-133. To celebrate his beautiful evening, he left with the match ball.
If the Jazz is so successful at the start of the season, it has a lot to do with it, in line with its very good Euro.
“He was impressive as an athlete, having never seen him before, and as a basketball player. I don’t know what the limit is for Lauri. I don’t think any of us know, but I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen it yet”, confided his coach Will Hardy after the meeting.
A puzzle for his opponents
From the top of his 2m13, Lauri Markkanen manages to pull out of the game with his mix of mobility and strength, not to mention his basketball IQ. In addition, he manages to be productive (and efficient) without necessarily pulling the cover.
“He causes a lot of problems with his ability to read the game without the ball”underlined Mike Conley. “We had more action with him cutting towards the circle to put in lay-ups and dunks than we probably have had in a long time. He’s a very smart player and with his size and build he can finish over a lot of people and create for other guys on the opposite side as well.”
For Will Hardy, it is indeed the atypical profile of its interior that is its strength.
“It does not correspond to what one might think when one sees it. I imagine that when you look at it, you don’t think it’s as mobile and as agile. Like his footwork, it’s not just straight-line speed. It’s his footwork in tight spaces and his ability to change direction.”he added.
At 25, his arrival in Utah is perhaps the best thing that could happen to his career after a sad end in Chicago and then an interesting experience in Cleveland. In Salt Lake City, he took some leadership and still has a lot to prove. “I am clearly not satisfied. There are many things I can do better.” It promises !
| Lauri Markkanen | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2017-18 | CHI | 68 | 30 | 43.4 | 36.2 | 84.3 | 1.2 | 6.3 | 7.5 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 15.2 |
| 2018-19 | CHI | 52 | 32 | 43.0 | 36.1 | 87.2 | 1.4 | 7.6 | 9.0 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 18.7 |
| 2019-20 | CHI | 50 | 30 | 42.5 | 34.4 | 82.4 | 1.2 | 5.1 | 6.3 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 14.7 |
| 2020-21 | CHI | 51 | 26 | 48.0 | 40.2 | 82.6 | 0.7 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 13.6 |
| 2021-22 | KEY | 61 | 31 | 44.5 | 35.8 | 86.8 | 1.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 14.8 |
| 2022-23 | UTH | 16 | 33 | 52.3 | 34.7 | 82.8 | 2.3 | 6.2 | 8.4 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 21.3 |
| Total | 298 | 30 | 44.6 | 36.4 | 84.8 | 1.2 | 5.7 | 6.8 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 15.7 | |
