Lauri Markkanen Discussion Thread

[PaKii94]

Lauri's Shooting at the Rim
2017-18: .676
2018-19: .624
2019-20: .648
2020-21: .750

Lauri's Layup Percentage
2017-18: .483
2018-19: .511
2019-20: .496
2020-21: .584

Lauri's Hook Shot Percentage
2017-18: .320 (8-25)
2018-19: .200 (6-30)
2019-20: .462 (12-26)
2020-21: .900 (9-10)

And this includes "cold streak" games

[chefo]

Lauri's Shooting at the Rim
2017-18: .676
2018-19: .624
2019-20: .648
2020-21: .750

Lauri's Layup Percentage
2017-18: .483
2018-19: .511
2019-20: .496
2020-21: .584

Lauri's Hook Shot Percentage
2017-18: .320 (8-25)
2018-19: .200 (6-30)
2019-20: .462 (12-26)
2020-21: .900 (9-10)

Perhaps he finally realized that a 6'7 player can't block a baby hook by a 7'1 player so he needs to work on it? Hopefully, we get to see more of that in the next 20+ games.

[Louri]

I'm all-in for skyhook lessons from Kareem. Drag step and Skyhook, what a combo for Lauri.

[Ice Man]

Ten hooks for the year? He should be getting 10 per week. Well maybe being with Thad will rub off on Lauri. He should be crushing in the paint the tiny tots that so many teams assign to guard him.

[Grodoboldo]

Dallas would be a great fit for him as would LA. The Bulls simply don’t have the top end talent that some teams do and as a result, need more from their supporting players.

I would like a S&T for Tim Hardaway Jr, and would absolutely LOVE one for Josh Richardson (though I don't see any reason why Dallas would do it, since he really fits their team well).

[chefo]

I'll just point out the obvious--if Lauri manages to score 10 ppg in the paint going forward at 75%, combined with chucking 6 3's / game at 40%, you're better off keeping him, even with a hefty price tag.

We've ragged on him for 4 years that he's not taking his posterior inside and punishing the tiny ones. If he starts doing it consistently, watch out, because the only thing stopping him from becoming a really nice scorer would be system and usage.

[WindyCityBorn]

Dallas would be a great fit for him as would LA. The Bulls simply don’t have the top end talent that some teams do and as a result, need more from their supporting players.

I would like a S&T for Tim Hardaway Jr, and would absolutely LOVE one for Josh Richardson (though I don't see any reason why Dallas would do it, since he really fits their team well).

We don’t need a $20 million dollar 6th man in Hardaway. He is just a worse LaVine.

[GoBlue72391]

Lauri's Shooting at the Rim
2017-18: .676
2018-19: .624
2019-20: .648
2020-21: .750

Lauri's Layup Percentage
2017-18: .483
2018-19: .511
2019-20: .496
2020-21: .584

Lauri's Hook Shot Percentage
2017-18: .320 (8-25)
2018-19: .200 (6-30)
2019-20: .462 (12-26)
2020-21: .900 (9-10)

By any chance are you able to find out his percentages on post up opportunities?

Sent from my SM-S115DL using RealGM mobile app

[GoBlue72391]

Ten hooks for the year? He should be getting 10 per week. Well maybe being with Thad will rub off on Lauri. He should be crushing in the paint the tiny tots that so many teams assign to guard him.

If Lauri can ever become even half the post up player Thad is then he's a multi-time all star easy, even if he adds nothing else to his game.

The ability to exploit mismatches has always been one of the biggest things in terms of unlocking his potential, with the biggest being his passiveness though the two are tied together, so hopefully this is the beginning of that. We need to continue getting him the ball against mismatches in the post. 18-22 minutes just isn't enough when he's playing like this.

A Lauri who shoots 38%+ from 3 on high volume, 70%+ on at the rim attempts, and can consistently exploit mismatches by blowing by bigger, slower defenders and posting up smaller, weaker players is the player we've always wanted him to be. Not to mention he's looked a lot better on defense recently.

Sent from my SM-S115DL using RealGM mobile app

[ZOMG]

Zach Lowe in his latest column:

One thing to watch: Vucevic is rolling to the rim slightly more often in Chicago now that he has a ball handler in LaVine who regularly draws two defenders, and he's a good passer on the move. Vucevic doesn't have as much space with Young lurking around the paint, but the floor is wide open with Markkanen at power forward.

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/31215089/ten-nba-things-like-including-nuggets-devastating-stars

This is very true. Thad and Vuc have been an awkward pair from the start. The decision to move Lauri to the bench before he'd had any chance to find chemistry with Vucevic was truly perplexing.

[sco]

Zach Lowe in his latest column:

One thing to watch: Vucevic is rolling to the rim slightly more often in Chicago now that he has a ball handler in LaVine who regularly draws two defenders, and he's a good passer on the move. Vucevic doesn't have as much space with Young lurking around the paint, but the floor is wide open with Markkanen at power forward.

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/31215089/ten-nba-things-like-including-nuggets-devastating-stars

This is very true. Thad and Vuc have been an awkward pair from the start. The decision to move Lauri to the bench before he'd had any chance to find chemistry with Vucevic was truly perplexing.

Thad and Lauri should both be coming off the bench, the guy to pair with Vuc is Theis. Lauri has convinced me that he's less effective when he is our 3rd option on the floor. Coming off the bench, he is more of a #1, and he's playing against lesser defenders.

[E-DC]

Lauri's Shooting at the Rim
2017-18: .676
2018-19: .624
2019-20: .648
2020-21: .750

Lauri's Layup Percentage
2017-18: .483
2018-19: .511
2019-20: .496
2020-21: .584

Lauri's Hook Shot Percentage
2017-18: .320 (8-25)
2018-19: .200 (6-30)
2019-20: .462 (12-26)
2020-21: .900 (9-10)

By any chance are you able to find out his percentages on post up opportunities?

Sent from my SM-S115DL using RealGM mobile app

I don't have that data. Maybe someone else can provide it.

[TheGOATRises007]

He plays with no fire and his help defense is atrocious.

It's just so disappointing watching him after those 1st two seasons.

[WindyCityBorn]

Back to the Lauri that makes him such a divisive player.

[madvillian]

Get this bum off the team. We need dogs on the court and guys that bring it every night.

[ZOMG]

Zach Lowe in his latest column:

One thing to watch: Vucevic is rolling to the rim slightly more often in Chicago now that he has a ball handler in LaVine who regularly draws two defenders, and he's a good passer on the move. Vucevic doesn't have as much space with Young lurking around the paint, but the floor is wide open with Markkanen at power forward.

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/story/_/id/31215089/ten-nba-things-like-including-nuggets-devastating-stars

This is very true. Thad and Vuc have been an awkward pair from the start. The decision to move Lauri to the bench before he'd had any chance to find chemistry with Vucevic was truly perplexing.

Thad and Lauri should both be coming off the bench, the guy to pair with Vuc is Theis. Lauri has convinced me that he's less effective when he is our 3rd option on the floor. Coming off the bench, he is more of a #1, and he's playing against lesser defenders.

No he's not. Coby White is clearly both the #1 AND #2 option for the bench squad.

They don't look for Lauri any more in the 2nd unit than they did when he was the starter. The difference is that the bench squad doesn't have two guys with sky high usage and "featured" roles set in stone, so Lauri gets at least some touches by default.

I have no idea why Billy is letting Coby "run" the 2nd unit. He cannot do it, he's not an NBA point guard. I don't care who he plays with. His decision making is truly awful and often he simply plays selfishly.

[the ultimates]

For people who say Lauri should be involved more in the offense please say how, when, and where he should get the ball. This nebulous be more involved in the offense stuff is bs. Let's break it down. Does he put the ball on the floor and create for himself or others? No. Does he post up well and score consistently? No. Half of his shots are from three. It's a shot he can't get for himself so he depends on others getting him the ball on pick and pop and penetrating. A player that limited in how he scores is not someone you run plays for or through.

I don't want to question people's basketball intelligence but damn. Look around the league whether it's good offensive teams or bad offensive teams, teams that play at a fast pace or slow as molasses nobody is saying let's give those types of players a bigger role on offense. He's a role player. Role players get their points by feeding off stars and number one or two options not because they have plays run for them or the excuse of they need to be involved more.

[Hugi Mancura]

Lauri's Shooting at the Rim
2017-18: .676
2018-19: .624
2019-20: .648
2020-21: .750

Lauri's Layup Percentage
2017-18: .483
2018-19: .511
2019-20: .496
2020-21: .584

Lauri's Hook Shot Percentage
2017-18: .320 (8-25)
2018-19: .200 (6-30)
2019-20: .462 (12-26)
2020-21: .900 (9-10)

By any chance are you able to find out his percentages on post up opportunities?

Sent from my SM-S115DL using RealGM mobile app

I don't have that data. Maybe someone else can provide it.

That hook shot percentage is weird. Where you got it?

Post-up (by nba.com):
2020-21: .690
2019-20: .389
2018-19: .370
2017-18: .416

This year Lauri has bulls best post-up numbers from current players. Vuc is second with .636 (his numbers in Orlando were much worse). Lauri is in 93.8% percentile of all NBA players.

PnR big, will use efg% because pick&pop:
2020-21: .488
2019-20: .463
2018-19: .578
2017-18: .523

Overall Bulls big's have awful numbers in this. Example Vuc had .489 with Orlando and 1.14ppp. His Bulls numbers so far .433 and 0.84ppp. Best with Bulls is Valentine with .700 (power of pick & pop)

PnR ballhandler:
2020-21: 0.625
2019-20: 0.643
2018-19: 0.397
2017-18: 0.450

Best with Bulls and in 97.2 percentile in all of the NBA.

These are very little sample, so use it with grain of salt. But real question is should player with these statistics get more opportunities to do these things?

[Louri]

It seems that Finnish media thinks that Bulls offered 15 million a year to Lauri. I still don't remember if it's confirmed anywhere? I've just read that "they were 4 millions apart". Any source?

His agent also said that Lauri is still dealing with that shoulder injury. "Something he had to fight through and still fights through. It's not something that goes away quickly." I think that's just excuse tho and problem is mostly mental.

[ZOMG]

It seems that Finnish media thinks that Bulls offered 15 million a year to Lauri. I still don't remember if it's confirmed anywhere? I've just read that "they were 4 millions apart". Any source?

His agent also said that Lauri is still dealing with that shoulder injury. "Something he had to fight through and still fights through. It's not something that goes away quickly." I think that's just excuse tho and problem is mostly mental.

What problem?

Regarding the shoulder - I agree that if you can play, you can play. Same goes for LaVine. People were still making excuses for him because of the ankle thing, and then he effortlessly exploded for a head-at-rim-level dunk. Oops.

Markkanen is clearly healthy enough to contribute. Now we just need to find someone to pass him the ball. That's no small task.