Analysis: Lauri Markkanen is even better than you might think – these are the reasons why the Finnish star’s team suddenly started to shine | Sport

Lauri Markkanen led by Utah Jazz has been one of the toughest teams in the NBA since the beginning of the year. Jazz has made a drastic full turn. Just over a month ago, Utah’s season was lost. Previously considered untouchable, Markkanen was even involved in various business speculations. What really happened and what will happen next?

In this story, a mysterious and tantalizing situation is opened by answering four questions.

Why are the Utah Jazz shining now?

All eyes will primarily be on Utah’s head coach to Will Hardy. 35-year-old Hardy is the second youngest head coach in the NBA, but is already one of the best coaches in the NBA.

Before the start of the season, Utah’s biggest question mark was Utah’s running back situation. It didn’t seem like there were any good solutions to the problem in the training season, nor in the opening games of the season. Hardy was looking hard for suitable duos in the backfield to help Lauri Markkas.

Now such a duo has been found From Collin Sexton and About Kris Dunn. After trial and error, Hardy seems to have succeeded in the biggest question mark. At the same time, under Hardy, versatile attacking and different forms of defense have also been seen.

Markkanes and Sexton have become a true Utah power duo. The really clever Sexton has caused problems for opponents in January. Even the casts have sunk effectively.

All in all, the roles in the team have hit the button after a long adjustment.

The current starting five is working. Simone Fontecchio and John Collins complement the aforementioned trio nicely. Even the bench is made of steel, when you can put one of the NBA’s best undercarriage defenders on the court by Walker Kessler and at best, forging baskets like a flamethrower by Jordan Clarkson.

In the current starting five, losses have only come to top teams Boston and Oklahoma City. Utah has become startlingly more than the sum of its parts.

What has been Lauri Markkanen’s role in the Utah sensation?

Lauri Markkanen is still Utah’s number one star and most important player, even though he hasn’t been hyped as much at the beginning of the year as Collin Sexton.

In one thing, Markkanen is the best in the NBA even at the moment.

He’s making the most straight-up threes than anyone right now. Last season, he was second in the statistics. Above was just one of the NBA’s best shooters of all time Klay Thompson. Now Thompson has been left behind.

Markkanen is a real nightmare for opponents. Smaller defenders are not able to interfere enough with the 213-centimeter Markkanen’s throw, which also comes out of the hands quickly. On the other hand, Markkanen squats bigger defenders with his athleticism.

If the opponent tries to change Markkanen’s defender, the Finn usually finds a way to take advantage of the situation. True to his nickname, Markkanen has been a real The Finnisher.

Where has Lauri Markkanen moved forward?

Lauri Markkanen’s statistics are almost the same as last season, the average point value is only slightly lower. Many could think purely based on statistical readings that Lauri Markkanen would not have improved much this season. However, this is not the case.

First of all, in the first half of last season, Markkanen served much better than this season.

All credit to Kris Dunn and Collin Sexton, but now leading the game for Minnesota, the top team in the NBA Mike Conley is a conductor of a different class.

Second, Markka is defended much harder than in previous years. Still, he has been able to make versatile baskets or find a free teammate. It was seen, for example, by a top team against Oklahoma in Utah’s previous game. At best, Markska was defended by several men, but the Finn was not too startled by it.

Utah’s third the attacks don’t even end up in the Finn’s solutions as much as last season.

Markkanen is still an exceptionally effective basket maker, but his so-called usage percentage is even lower than last season. The usage percentage is already very low compared to many other star players in the league.

A descriptive example was just from the Oklahoma game on Friday. While battling for the win in the final two minutes, Oklahoma’s superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander solved the game. Markkanen did not touch the ball once in the attacking zone.

Over the years, the king of Pohjola has been criticized for his defense, but especially in recent weeks there has been an improvement. Markkanen has taken on the opponent’s big players. The biggest scalp since the beginning of the year has been the superstar of the Los Angeles Lakers Anthony Daviswhich Markkanen completely reset.

Utah coach Will Hardy has emphasized how Markkanen has progressed in aggressiveness. Markkanen has been able to respond to the tougher defense and goes harder towards the basket.

During January, this has been reflected in Markkanen’s higher number of free throws than in the previous season.

If Markkanen is able to create even more chances for himself, the 26-year-old Vaalea jaga can still rise to the next star category in the NBA. We already had time to see some indications of this in January.

It’s no wonder that in the most recent North American media speculations, Markkanen is seen as Utah’s number one name in the future. Not just as the second name of a possible champion candidate in the coming years.

What does the future of Lauri Markkanen and the Utah Jazz look like?

Despite all the hype, Utah still has a lot to prove. The team’s performances have not always been something beautiful to watch, even though they are at their best.

Utah was also lucky at the beginning of the year, when several teams that were tougher in advance had superstars on the sidelines.

One big thing in terms of the continuation is losing the ball. In a recent loss against Oklahoma, Utah immediately fell behind when they lost the ball too many times on offense in the first quarter. Utah has improved in this regard, but there are still a lot of turnovers compared to success.

Although the season has only reached the halfway point, the coming weeks will determine the rest of the season for the Utah Jazz and Markkanen very much.

Utah starts a tour of six away games on Sunday. It’s Utah’s longest road streak of the season. The basketball pride of Salt Lake City, located high above sea level, has been better at home for almost a decade, but it has been difficult away from home.

If Utah manages to continue at the pace of the last few weeks and fight for a playoff spot, the club management will have an interesting choice in front of them.

After the end of the away game tour, there is a week until the end of the NBA transfer deadline. Like last year, is Utah in the role of a salesman, or are the Jazz looking for some specific confirmations thinking about success in the spring?

At least for now, the Jazz athletic director, the architect of Boston’s 2008 championship team, Danny Ainge looks like a genius after bringing his entire current starting five to the team either on sale or for free. He doesn’t have to make any hasty decisions.

After the away game tour, the fate of one of Lauri Markkanen’s personal recognitions will also be decided.

Despite Markkanen’s development, it is downright ironic that this year it will be difficult for the Finn to make it to the all-star game for the second time in a row. The reason is the increased number of stars in the Western Conference.

Even before the turn of the year, an all-star match seemed impossible for Markkanes, but now with Utah’s complete turnaround, his shares have risen as well.

We live in exciting times.