Lauri Markkanen has enough responsibility in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ last three regular season matches. A minimum of two wins and a stumbling block of the Toronto and Markkanen ex-club Chicago are required for the playoffs.
Finnish basketball player Lauri Markkanen and his NBA club Cleveland Cavaliers have exceeded the expectations set by their followers in their series this season.
Cleveland has been struggled mainly at the tail end of the NBA since LeBron James left the club at the end of the 2017-18 season.
However, the team has been able to show its skeptics the ability to fight for the playoffs. Especially from the beginning of the season, the Cavaliers were at an excellent pace.
Now Cleveland, represented by Markkanen, is knocking on the playoffs. However, the journey towards the biggest games of the season has been twisted, following the defeat to the Philadelphia 76ers last Sunday. Cleveland is pouring heavily towards the final four-place qualifier of the playoffs.
The Cavaliers last played in the NBA playoffs without LeBron James in the 1997-98 season. Now, in its last three regular season matches, it has the opportunity to change this. However, a straight playoff spot requires at least two wins and a stumbling block from your competitors.
That way Cleveland could get straight into the playoffs
In their final three games, the Cavaliers will face Orlando Magic, the last in the Eastern Conference, Brooklyn Nets to secure a playoff spot, and reigning NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks.
A team needs at least two wins out of its three games to maintain its aspirations for a direct playoff spot. At the same time, it will have to hope for losses for the Toronto Raptors and Markkanen’s ex-club Chicago Bulls. Both the Raptors and Bulls have four regular season games left.
If Cleveland wins all three of its matches, its straight to the playoffs, enough for Toronto to win just one match or Chicago not to win at all. With three wins, Cleveland’s payout percentage would be 0.561.
If Cleveland manages to win two of his three matches, it must be hoped that Toronto won’t win the game either. With only four losses to the Raptors, the Cavaliers would stretch straight to the semifinals in this scenario.
Toronto will face the Atlanta Hawks, the Philadelphia 76ers, the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks in their final four matches. Chicago’s last four games are against Milwaukee, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves
For Cleveland, the favorite of the last three opponents is certainly the series jumper Orlando, which it has won twice this season. Instead, Brooklyn and Milwaukee create a different challenge.
Brooklyn has knocked down Cleveland twice and lost to it once in the past season. Milwaukee, meanwhile, have managed to beat the Cavaliers once and lost twice in three previous encounters.
If Markkanen and his teammates are unable to win, Cleveland will most likely have to look for a possible playoff spot through a qualifier.
More responsibility may be enough for Markkanen
On Sunday, Lauri Markkanen was offered a lot of responsibility against Philadelphia. The Finn contracts the most minutes of the Cavaliers’ players, playing 38 minutes and 44 seconds. The points accumulated in that time 16. The Finn snapped seven rebounds and two of his passes led to the basket.
Markkanen certainly had the most teeth in the defensive direction. The Finn was set to defend a Philadelphia star player Joel Embiid. The task was unnecessarily difficult for Markkanen, with a strong Embiid holding him through the match. The 76ers center scored 44 points in the match and collected 17 rebounds.
– He is very difficult to defend, especially when he knows how skilled he is with his big size. We defended him hard today, but it’s hard to stop him, especially when he got so many free throws.
Markkanen will probably continue to play a role. The contract for the Cavaliers ’final matches is hampered by the team’s top players Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen injuries that prevent the duo from being seen in all three games. Mobley previously injured his ankle and Allen has been away for a long time due to a finger injury.
The NBA Regular Season ends on Sunday.