Lauri Markkanen shines in the NBA this season as well. The Finn’s long streak without a playoff game can still continue. However, the activities of the club management have been promising, writes Urheilu’s Roope Visuri.
Roope Visuriruheluth reporter
– The aim is to be in the best shape of your life when the (NBA) games start, Lauri Markkanen stated a good month and a half ago to Urheilu.
At that time, Markkanes had had difficulties in the World Championships. Susigengi had suffered three defeats in the first group, and the Finn had not shone as expected. There was enough talk about the effects of Finnish conscript service on excerpts.
Markkanen himself admitted how he would have done things differently in the summer without military service. However, Suomalaistahtih promised that he is ready to go to the NBA floor when the time is right.
Now that time is coming, because the Finn’s seventh NBA season begins early Thursday in Utah with a match against Minnesota.
It’s time to turn words into action again.
Actions have already been seen in pre-season practice games. For example, the Portland match was Markkanen’s show. Markkanen scored 26 points in just 25 minutes of play.
Markkanen was really efficient. The Finn did exactly those things, why he made baskets last season, even at the NBA level, with historical efficiency.
Read more: How on earth did Lauri Markkase become one of the world’s most powerful body builders? Suomalaištahti shares his tips for young people
Of course, you can never draw too far-reaching conclusions from the NBA practice games, but at least they showed that the Finn is in a good shot. Based on them, the gossip can be forgotten.
Of course, now Markkanen will surely face the toughest challenge of his career, when one NBA club after another puts their best defender in the Finn. Markkanen must be able to react to it.
Repeating last season’s unfathomable readings would sound wild, but so far there have been no obstacles to it.
Will the long streak without playoffs end?
From Markkanen’s point of view, the sad statistic can still be continued, even if the Finn shines again in a great way.
Markkanen has played the second most regular season games among current NBA players without a single playoff game. Only Bahamian Buddy Hield is ahead of Markkanen.
Overall, only 30 players in NBA history have played more regular season games than Markka without a single playoff game. In the second season, Markkanen was in the playoff qualifiers in Cleveland’s shirt, but the Finn has not yet been able to play in the actual playoffs.
Last year, Utah was 12th in the Western Conference. At that time, the club threw down the gauntlet in the middle of the season by doing a clearance sale, when it wanted a better position for the summer booking event.
Now Utah will probably improve from last season, but still in the tough Western Conference, Utah still has a tough time reaching the playoffs.
Realistically, playoff qualification and a top 10 finish are on the horizon, but Utah can also end up in the same place as last year.
The decisive obstacle may be Utah’s playmakers. Having played a big role in the highlights of last season Mike Conley’s like glue exhausts the team. For example, in Utah’s practice games, the playmaker situation became the biggest topic of conversation in a similar way to Susijeng’s in the fall World Cup.
As Markkanen’s third place in the points statistics of the World Championships shows, the Finn can still score points. However, it is about the fact that the level of the entire Utah team, and especially the playmakers, is not yet sufficient for the playoff goal set by the Finn.
Fascinating revelations about the club management
However, the situation is not as gloomy as in many previous years. In the North American media, there have been interesting revelations about the Utah Jazz behind the scenes during the early fall.
One of the NBA’s best-known insider reporters Zach Lowe told in his podcasthow Utah tried to attract a star quarterback to their ranks Jrue Holiday. A two-time All-Star, Holiday first moved from Milwaukee to Portland when he was one piece of superstardom Damian Lillard’s in trading.
The 33-year-old Holiday eventually moved on to the championship contender Boston Celtics, but Lowe’s revelation adds interest to Utah’s situation.
Game movement tells about the fact that Utah’s club management is now also aiming for winning and the playoffs.
Success is certainly not sought at any cost. However, attempts are made to acquire suitable pieces for the unfinished puzzle when they come on the market.
News like the Holiday revelations sounds good to Finns.
In the case of Markkanen, however, there has been talk for a long time about refueling, i.e. enabling losses from the club management. This season, hopefully, we’ll be talking about something completely different when we start to get to the decision moments.