Markkanen looks like a beast

[nedleeds]

White guy comp drinking game is on fire in this thread. I'm hammered.

[The-Power]

Mark looks like 6'9" Reggie Miller.
Dirk was 7' Reggie Miller with a better face game and one of the GOAT post games.

he's 7'

Dirk is 7'. Tyson Chandler is 7'1". Let me see Markenen on the court with one of them and we can talk about how tall he is. KD is 6'11". I bet he is taller than Lauri.

Lauri is the prototypical height for a PF. That is not 7'. Karl Malone is closer to Lauri s height than Lauri is to Dirk.

You do know that they measure these guys, no? What's the point of embarrassing yourself by doubling down on something objectively wrong? Not to mention that there are plenty of pictures showing that Lauri is a legit 7'. The time spent to write your post could have been spent on google and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[spacemonkey]

Lauri's body is really impressive. I think as he matures he'll get really strong without losing too much of that quickness, and will become a real tough cover.

He's also got a great touch on his shot.

[Unbiased hater]

He is athletic Kukoc without post game and passing

[Johnny Firpo]

I don't see a superstar in Lauri, but I do see a multiple All-Star. I guess time will tell, but he isn't exactly lighting it up since his return, the 52%TS is a pretty bad efficiency. I know it's a tiny sample size, but OP's claimed he has been great since he came back, and that efficiency is not great, in fact it's really bad. Just pointing it out, sorry.

[Nuntius]

I didn't watch Markkanen in Arizona. I'm not into college ball since as a Euro I don't have an alma mater to root for. But I have been following Finland's national team ever since 2011 so I got to watch Markkanen shine in the 2017 EuroBasket (the very same EuroBasket that Slovenia won largely due to Dragić and Dončić).

So, one of the very first Markkanen games was the one against France, one of the strongest teams in Europe. And that's what he did in that game:

Watch on YouTube

He was barely 20 years old and yet he led a comeback against France and won the game in OT.

And then there was the game against Poland. Granted, Poland is not a superpower like France but it is a team that almost always qualifies for the EuroBasket and can advance to the next round.

So, in that game Poland was playing Finland very tough. Both teams were at 1-1 (their losses to Slovenia who ended up going 5-0 and winning the group) and a lot of people thought that this game would determine who would get the last qualifying spot in the group (Slovenia, France and Greece were seen as favorites while Iceland was seen as by far the weakest of the group). Finland was down by 5 points (61-66) when Markkanen was fouled on a 3 with 15.6 seconds to go. Markkanen cans all 3 FTs. Finland had a foul to give so they give it out and then Poland has to inbound from the sideline. Markkanen steals the inbound pass and goes coast to coast to tie the game up and force OT. Fast forward to the final possession of OT. Poland is up 2 (76-78). Finland has the ball with and they go to Markkanen. Markkanen backs down the much smaller A.J. Slaughter and hits a turnaround fade-away jumper over him to force another OT. Finland won the game in second OT (90-87) and Markkanen ended up with 27 points and 9 rebounds. Here's a video of that game:

Watch on YouTube

Finland would go on to beat Greece (my home country) and Iceland and qualify as the second best of the group with a 4-1 record. They didn't make it very far in the knockout stage as they were beaten in the round of 16 by Italy but their group stage performance was the best that the country has ever seen. And it was led by a 20-year old Markkanen.

EuroBasket 2017 was a unique experience for a lot of fans of European basketball. It was the first time that we saw players that young have that kind of impact for their respective national teams. It wasn't just Markkanen. Porziņģis led Latvia to the Quarterfinals and Dončić was a big reason why Slovenia won it. It was amazing to watch, really.

So, yeah, after watching those games I was convinced. Markkanen is indeed a beast and he'll have a great career.

[Galou]

I remember he did pretty good against the Knicks last season.

imo, i think mark is better than zing

Watch on YouTube

[Klayforspicy]

I remember he did pretty good against the Knicks last season.

imo, i think mark is better than zing

Watch on YouTube

I don't see how you could come to that conclusion. There's really nothing to support it.

[Texas Chuck]

I think he has the potential to be as good as Dirk N. With better D as well.

So basically one of the best players of all time?

If you are as good as Dirk offensively but better defensively you are immediately in the discussions for GOAT.

Of course it's totally unfair to the kid to put Dirk-level expectations on the guy. Either people have no idea just how good Dirk was(which feels nearly impossible if you are posting here) or they have no concept that just because a guy has a great start to his career doesn't mean his career is going to have the same trajectory as one of the top 12-15 players of all-time.

Sure maybe he has a better career than Dirk. Definitely possible. But so unlikely as to not really be worth any serious discussion this soon into his career. We can start talking about 5-6 years from now depending on what he does.

Really great looking player and Bulls fans should be stoked. But they only set themselves for let down by having Dirk expectations.

[ChaosHamster]

I remember he did pretty good against the Knicks last season.

imo, i think mark is better than zing

Watch on YouTube

I don't see how you could come to that conclusion. There's really nothing to support it.

Lauri had his best game of the season against the Knicks.. So some fans who probably saw him that one time - left impressed.

[Galou]

I remember he did pretty good against the Knicks last season.

imo, i think mark is better than zing

Watch on YouTube

I don't see how you could come to that conclusion. There's really nothing to support it.

My bad. I'm a little high to be debating, posting essays, and stats right now. I just know that he's better than KP.

That is all

[Axolotl]

I'm a big fan of Markkanen, but let's be realistic here. He had a good rookie season, and is just three games into his sophomore season. He is a great prospect with a lot of development ahead to become a great player.

[Galou]

I remember he did pretty good against the Knicks last season.

imo, i think mark is better than zing

Watch on YouTube

I don't see how you could come to that conclusion. There's really nothing to support it.

Lauri had his best game of the season against the Knicks.. So some fans who probably saw him that one time - left impressed.

Throwing shots? Can't we all just get along? My brother

[SecondTake]

I don't think people who constantly compare and say tall Euros who can shoot can become the next Dirk truly realize how unique Dirk is. I can almost guarantee there will not be another Dirk anytime in the near future. IMO the next great Euro player is Giannis who has a game pretty distinct from Dirk's game (I want to see Luka play a few complete season).
I know it's hard to believe but I remember there was once a time when people said Bargnani had the ability to be better than Dirk. Then I heard people say it about Porzingis as well - although to be fair KP got injured but one underrated thing about Dirk was his durability when he was young (when Dirk missed 9 games in the 2010-11 season that was the most games he had missed in a season to that point in his career).
Markkanen looks impressive, to be sure, but given that European players tend to develop faster at a younger age compared to back when Dirk was a teen he seems to be behind the curve to me.

Hmm, behind the curve how so? He's already better than Porzingis was at the same age. His game is actually very mature for his age. Do you watch him play? He had one of the greatest shooting campaigns ever for a rookie.

Huh? He scored 15 on 43%.... That's not that impressive, rookie or not.

[stilldropin20]

now imagine if the bulls successfully tanked for Doncic and were able to trade up from 16 and still get WCJ.

ugh!!!!!! we would be the best damn team in the east!!! Or at least right up there with Toronto. And we would need a vet 3. kawhi would have chosen Chicago this summer. rebuild could have been complete by losing 4 more damn games!!!

[RSP83]

Markkanen is a very good player, he can be an Elite scorer in this league. As a Bulls fan, I'm excited about the future of this team with Markkanen, Lavine, and Carter as the core. So far they're showing that they can play well together. We'll see if Boylen can continue to get this team to play the right way.

[GameBredAPBT]

now imagine if the bulls successfully tanked for Doncic and were able to trade up from 16 and still get WCJ.

ugh!!!!!! we would be the best damn team in the east!!! Or at least right up there with Toronto. And we would need a vet 3. kawhi would have chosen Chicago this summer. rebuild could have been complete by losing 4 more damn games!!!

Doncic wanted the Bulls, too. He & Markk are close homies. PaxGar goof troop aren't bright enough to hatch a scheme like that. Let's hope they find a way to bring one of the Duke boys to Chicago next year, because Reddish would fit this team like a glove & send them over the top imo.

I'm not nearly As high on WCJ as most people on this board are. I think he can be very good, but it's gonna take a long time, and it may not ever happen without a proper facilitator.

[GameBredAPBT]

Markkanen is a very good player, he can be an Elite scorer in this league. As a Bulls fan, I'm excited about the future of this team with Markkanen, Lavine, and Carter as the core. So far they're showing that they can play well together. We'll see if Boylen can continue to get this team to play the right way.

I'm very high on Jim Boylen. I've always liked his body language & communicative nature with the guys. He seems honest to a fault & seems to have been given free reign right from the jump, which is the right way to go imo. Seems the Gar Forman experience has come to an end, with both Hoiberg & Randy Brown being pushed out. Boylen has a lot to prove but he seems up to the task. I also liked how honest he was about the talent level on the Bulls: basically said "you know, I like our guys", never said love or seemed to be over the moon with them. I'm sure he knows how dumb the Parker signing was. I personally didn't like them letting Nwaba walk.

[Ice Trae]

7 foot al harrington

[Ugly Duckling]

LOL. You guys have been sleeping on him and the Bulls