The Bulls won the game but Lauri Markkanen clearly had a message for his former club. With big dunks, including a huge poster on Nikola Vucevic, the Finn made himself heard!
“I spoke to him before the game” confirms Zach LaVine. “He wanted to send a message. But his dunks… I had to tell him to calm down a bit in the first half. Because it didn’t help anyone. »
The “Finnisher” did not really listen to him since it was after half-time that he climbed on the Montenegrin pivot from Illinois, to finish with 28 points at 12/20 shooting.
“I am extremely happy for Lauri” however provides the rear of the Bulls. “The type of player he is and has become, the aggressiveness he displays. He’s totally an All-Star to me, he’s got my vote. »
No regrets for Billy Donovan
If Lauri Markkanen played four years in Chicago, Billy Donovan only trained him for one season, the last. The one where the Finn was not extended, then was pushed to the bench by the arrival of Nikola Vucevic…
“I’ve always been a big fan of Lauri, even though I’ve only been around him for a short time. I always thought he had a lot of qualities, size, and that he was an intelligent player. describes the technician. “He could do a lot of things. Guys get better with experience. He’s gotten stronger, he’s probably more confident, more comfortable, and he’s obviously playing very well right now. »
Boosted by his beautiful Euro, and its use by Will Hardy, who uses it more in motion, Lauri Markkanen has exploded this season. But Billy Donovan doesn’t really have any regrets.
“No, because everyone has their own growth period. Everyone evolves in a different way, everyone goes through it differently. For (Luka) Doncic, (Jayson) Tatum and some guys like that, it happens as soon as they come into the league. Players like Donovan Mitchell, they were impact players right away. But if you look at a wide range of players, look at their trajectory and progression curve to become really great players, the timeline is different for everyone. »
| Lauri Markkanen | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saison | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2017-18 | CHI | 68 | 30 | 43.4 | 36.2 | 84.3 | 1.2 | 6.3 | 7.5 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 15.2 |
| 2018-19 | CHI | 52 | 32 | 43.0 | 36.1 | 87.2 | 1.4 | 7.6 | 9.0 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 18.7 |
| 2019-20 | CHI | 50 | 30 | 42.5 | 34.4 | 82.4 | 1.2 | 5.1 | 6.3 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 14.7 |
| 2020-21 | CHI | 51 | 26 | 48.0 | 40.2 | 82.6 | 0.7 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 13.6 |
| 2021-22 | CLE | 61 | 31 | 44.5 | 35.8 | 86.8 | 1.0 | 4.7 | 5.7 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 14.8 |
| 2022-23 | UTH | 39 | 34 | 53.1 | 41.7 | 87.4 | 1.9 | 6.5 | 8.3 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 24.6 |
| Total | 320 | 30 | 45.4 | 37.2 | 85.5 | 1.2 | 5.8 | 7.0 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 16.5 | |