Playing a wild NBA fall Lauri Markkanen seems to have gained another extra gear in the last matches. The night before Friday, Markkanen broke his previous scoring record with 11 points, when the Finnish star scored a whopping 49 points in a 131-114 away win against Houston.
The last time the Utah team scored the same number of points in the NBA regular season was a club legend Karl Malone in 1998.
The fiery Finn has averaged 33.8 points and 10.5 rebounds in the last six games. In these matches, the layups have been sunk by an average of 51.2 percent and threes by 35.5 percent.
The first Finn to play in the NBA Hanno Möttölän according to Markkanen will seal his position in the elite of the world’s toughest basketball league, if the breakneck pace continues.
– Yes, he is knocking on the doors of superstardom. When this season drags on and slowly brings his point average to 25, then he should start being called a superstar internationally. In our eyes, he has already been like that.
Markkanen’s point average for the entire season is 24.5.
All-star match
Markkanen’s good grips have raised him to selection speculations for the NBA all-star game, which will be played on February 19 at Utah’s home court. The frontcourt of the Western Conference team is tight Zion Williamson, Nicola Jokic and LeBron James’s superstars like
According to Möttölä, Markkanen will probably not fit in the starting five, despite his tough moves.
– I hope he will be selected for one of the following seven positions. Of course, the huge games of the last month support that. Also the fact that the star match will take place in Lauri’s home gym in Salt Lake City.
The head coaches of the teams choose the substitute players for the star match. Spectators, players and the media vote on the opening pitch.
– Hopefully the historicity of the situation would be understood and the home team would also get one player there.
From the national team, a model for the NBA
According to Möttölä, one of the reasons for Markkanen’s record season is the use of screens without the ball. In Screen, the player stands in front of the defender guarding another teammate in attack, so that the teammate can get rid of his defender.
– If the defender follows, Lauri continues to use the screen. If the defender goes under, Lauri gets a free three-point throw.
According to Möttölä, Markkanen has already used screens skillfully in his junior years and in the national team.
– This is the first time that Lauri is repeatedly played screens without the ball. The defense is actually quite unarmed because Utah knows how to exploit them. Someone is always free, especially if Lauri is doubled in screens.
In the European Championships, Markkanen often acted as a screener himself and progressed to the basket from there.
– Utah has started using these this year. Utah’s coaching has given credit to our national team for this. They followed the European Championship and took a model from there. Markkanen is a suitable mix of the NBA basket and Europe. Lauri is one of the best in the world to take advantage of such attacking situations.
Free throws and threes sink
Markkanen made history in the Houston match. He is the first player in NBA history to shoot at least 12 free throws in three consecutive games without missing any of them. Markkanen has now sunk 43 free throws in a row.
The free throw may be the easiest way to throw, but it is also the most important at the top level. They have won and lost championships.
– The fact that you can’t break against Lauri in the final quarter is a big advantage. In my eyes, it’s a really big status for a player who can shoot free throws with those percentages. It brings a lot more to the team, and you can be sure that in tight games, Utah will want the ball for Lauri at the end, knowing that if he is fouled, it is practically always two faces.
– Free throw percentages are really rare. Steph Curry is another absolute top player who can throw from night to night with those efficiencies.
Curry is a four-time NBA champion. He has made the most three-pointers in series history. Curry is the only player to be unanimously voted the most valuable player in the series.
According to Möttöla, Markkanen’s efficiency from the three-point line also sets him apart from others.
– According to the standard of the NBA, there are not terribly effective forward players. Curry is one who shoots about a lot of threes.
Markkanen has made 116 successful three-pointers in 38 games. It is eighth most (you switch to another service) in the whole series.
Utah is fighting for a playoff spot
After a charming early season, Utah has played erratically. With the Houston victory, it ended a five-game losing streak. It had a similar streak at the end of November.
According to Möttölä, one of the reasons for the losses was the back man Mike Conley’s injury in late November.
– There were several losses in a row. Even if he came back, he didn’t immediately go the same way.
Despite the losses, Utah has played well, and there have been no crushing losses. For example, in the course of the last five defeats, the team bowed to its opponent by only five points.
Möttölä has strong faith that Utah and Markkanen will get a taste of the playoffs in the spring. Utah now has 20 wins and Western Conference leaders Denver and Memphis have 25 wins.
– Utah’s game is good and mobile. They can handle the pressure for the next couple of months very well under Lauri’s leadership. I think Utah will finish 7-10, where they can play for the actual playoff spot to the top eight. The Western Conference is very even this year. There is a lot of stuff in the group of six.