By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
While we are accustomed to seeing incredible games by Nikola Jokic of Serbia and the Slovenian sensation Luka Doncic, this season in the NBA, the Finish superstar Lauri Markkanen is turning a lot of heads because of his games in Utah. He proved he can do a lot of things on the floor, spread the defense, play in the paint, be a playmaker, and most important he can win games.
“For us, he’s all of those roles. It’s like, why would we try to pigeonhole him into one thing?” Jazz coach Will Hardy said via ESPN.
Hardy had studied Markkanen’s game in both Chicago and Cleveland, where he reinvented himself as a wing last season in coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s big lineups. But what really showcased Markkanen’s potential was how he was used by the Finnish national team this summer at the EuroBasket championships, during which he averaged 28 points and eight rebounds, including a monster 43-point game in an upset of Croatia.
“I feel like we really empowered him to just use all the skills that he had,” Finland captain Shawn Huff said.
“His skill range is so wide that it’s hard to put him in a box. It kind of gives him more freedom when he can do whatever. I’m really happy to see that the Jazz are kind of doing the same things with him. He’s kind of all over the place. And I think that’s where he shines.”
After coming over from Cleveland in the Donovan Mitchell trade, Markkanen is on his way to averaging 20 points in a season for the first time in his career as one of the most efficient scorers in the league.
Markkanen’s ability to move the ball and be a playmaker has been vital to Utah’s offense.
“It’s really hard for young players sometimes to find their lane,” Hardy said.
“Confidence is everything“, Markkanen added.
“My third year in Chicago, it was hard for me mentally. I was always trying to climb out of it.”
He started seeing a sports psychologist, read “The Inner Game of Tennis” at the urging of his longtime trainer, Dan Connelly, and just kept at it. Eventually, he had a breakthrough.
“I’ve always been a bit of an overthinker,” Markkanen said. “Like, I was missing shots. If they felt good but they weren’t going in, I’d get down. But then at some point, I remember it just clicked. Like, ‘Who cares if I miss? Then I didn’t care anymore. And the next game they started going in because I just stopped thinking about it.“