Lauri Markkanen

[rgdeuce]

Well...

#1. Boston doesnt need to trade back for more picks...

#2. Isaiah Thomas is going to be due a near max contract next summer. One that would pay him $25 million more... per year.

#3. Lauri is not a unicorn. He isnt a rim protector, and really isnt that good of a defender in general. I am a bit surprised about his perimeter defense earlier in the year, but that has tailed off quite a bit, as his legs dont look there.

I did my own half-hearted analysis with the Celtics, perhaps in this thread. I know what I would do if I were Boston and it aligns with your thinking. As nice as it is to have one of the most dangerous scorers in the league and a guy who is now considered as a superstar, he is not the superstar I would give $25 million per year, especially when you consider the fact that he is statistically the worst defender in the league. You already have Horford as a 4 and while he could be moved to the 5, Boston is better suited to keep him at the 4 and find a superior rebounder and interior defender/rim protector for the 5. And yes, the Celtics have been the kings of loading up the draft picks, they have not been the kings of having the picks that land you a bonafide elite player. I'm picking Fultz and I would not entertain anything else unless I got two top 8 or 9 picks in this years lottery, or one of those picks and a VERY nice young impact player. I don't re-sign Isaiah, and that $25 plus million a year I saved is going to piece together a team that can dominate the east as Lebron's career is in its downswing. This is Danny Ainge though, and that worries me.

[TucsonClip]

I did my own half-hearted analysis with the Celtics, perhaps in this thread. I know what I would do if I were Boston and it aligns with your thinking. As nice as it is to have one of the most dangerous scorers in the league and a guy who is now considered as a superstar, he is not the superstar I would give $25 million per year, especially when you consider the fact that he is statistically the worst defender in the league. You already have Horford as a 4 and while he could be moved to the 5, Boston is better suited to keep him at the 4 and find a superior rebounder and interior defender/rim protector for the 5. And yes, the Celtics have been the kings of loading up the draft picks, they have not been the kings of having the picks that land you a bonafide elite player. I'm picking Fultz and I would not entertain anything else unless I got two top 8 or 9 picks in this years lottery, or one of those picks and a VERY nice young impact player. I don't re-sign Isaiah, and that $25 plus million a year I saved is going to piece together a team that can dominate the east as Lebron's career is in its downswing. This is Danny Ainge though, and that worries me.

Yeah, agreed on all that.

If it were me, im working on a Jimmy Butler trade this summer, but there is no way im giving up the Nets pick this year. the 2018 pick is a whole different matter. Additionally, if I land Fultz, id be looking at sending Thomas out in a deal, plus Bradley, and the Nets 2018 pick for Butler. Shit, they can have Brown too if need be.

Not only do you get your star player, you aggregate his salary in the trade which leaves you with max cap space this summer to make a run at... Gordon Hayward.

[gumby]

PJC's FT after the head's-up grab and shot at the end of the half (should have been 2...he caught the ball with .6 with the intention to shoot and got bumped...not sure how it could not be shooting when contact occurred when he grabbed it and there was no time to do anything but shoot) was painful...the place is rocking, we are pulling away at the half, and our PG just got a freebie foul at half court and can increase the lead. It was festive....then he gets to the line, we all hold our breath, he short-arms the throw, and you would have thought someone stole the collective crowd's candy or puppy. The band started playing, but it was deathly silent, and the players walked into the locker room holding their heads. With a 9 point lead at half that came about because of a great close.

.

This is one of the most misinterpreted rules in the game of basketball. Forget most fans, most refs do not even get this correct. When you gather and begin the motion to make a field goal attempt/the motion that precedes an attempt, and you are fouled it is a shooting foul. Same thing if Trier is on a 1 on 1 fast break, he gathers at the free throw line and starts his two long steps before he takes off for a dunk, if the defender fouls him on either of those steps it is a shooting foul, it doesnt have to happen after he leaves his feet for the dunk. The college game needs the NBA continuation rule already and this is just another reason to have it, because the refs butcher that call all the time.

Or in LeBron's case. Any of three steps.

[EVCat]

Never understood how players can miss an open 15 foot shot, with no one guarding you, and don't even have to jump. A 15 foot set shot with 10 seconds to shoot.

Mental. Regularly, you don't actually think about shooting. Free throws are nothing but time to think.

That said, a lot of players aren't always converting the open 15 footer either.

Yea, ruling out things like hand size, as long as you get down adequate technique and/or aren't throwing lasers up at the hoop, to me at least, free throws were all muscle memory. I'd consistently have 90 plus makes out of 100 at the end of practices in high school and I was a below average 3 point shooter. It came easy to me once I was fully taught the importance of routine and I will spare you all mine. Fatigue was what gave me issues. If I took 100 shots right after suicides, my makes dropped to the high 70s or 80s. In games, I was usually in the low to mid 80s and it was solely fatigue, I can only think of a couple of instances when I had big time nerves at the line.

As Space pointed out, the mental side of things is the other big factor. Remember Jordin Mayes freshman year? Dude shot 45% from 3 and only 50% from the line, and most of that season he was in the 30s. One of my old college teammate's stepfather was a self-made multi-millionaire and motivational speaker. He was taught this exercise, long story short, basically muscle memory for the brain. You determine the weakness and every day, multiple times a day, you read "I can" mumbo jumbo until your brain is tricked from "I cant" to "I can" and the results follow. Somebody on the Utah Jazz put him in touch with Karl Malone, who was Shaquille-like at the free throw line in the infancy of his NBA career. He had Malone do the exercise. Malone when from 48%, to 59%, to 70%, to 76%, and he maintained in the mid to high 70s for the remainder of his career absent one season.

Quoting this whole thing just to point out I did not say the quote attributed to me above. Something got crossed up in the quoting

[EVCat]

As nice as it is to have one of the most dangerous scorers in the league and a guy who is now considered as a superstar, he is not the superstar I would give $25 million per year, especially when you consider the fact that he is statistically the worst defender in the league.

One thing to consider these days though is max deals and big money in the NBA aren't necessarily about deserving it, nor does it hurt the team. With the major uptick in the cap and the increased required percentage of cap to spend, teams literally have to spend that money to meet the 90% cap guidelines, and might as well give it to a starter than pay the 12th man $6,000,000. It's why Mike Conley got LeBron money (5 years, $153 Million) to be a good 13 ppg/6 apg option.

WIth a $70MM cap in 2015-16 increased to a $94.14MM cap this year (and a luxury tax limit of $113.29MM), teams had to spend upwards of $21MM anywhere they could last year and will need to increase to a $102MM cap (w/$122MM luxury tax limit) in 2017-18 (est), so they have another $7MM per year or so to throw at someone along with any catchup if they didn't have sufficient openings to meet cap without exceeding the 5/25% or 30% provisions on individual players.

It's a good time to be pretty good but not great in the NBA. I don't know the Celtics specific cap situation, but Ainge might just have money he has to spend anyway.

[luteformayor2]

If Lauri shapes up to be a Dirk Nowitzki type offensive player, he does not need to be a "rim protector".

The whole "unicorn" thing is overplayed. Tall, Offensive killers like Lauri are not seen often.

[TucsonClip]

As nice as it is to have one of the most dangerous scorers in the league and a guy who is now considered as a superstar, he is not the superstar I would give $25 million per year, especially when you consider the fact that he is statistically the worst defender in the league.

One thing to consider these days though is max deals and big money in the NBA aren't necessarily about deserving it, nor does it hurt the team. With the major uptick in the cap and the increased required percentage of cap to spend, teams literally have to spend that money to meet the 90% cap guidelines, and might as well give it to a starter than pay the 12th man $6,000,000. It's why Mike Conley got LeBron money (5 years, $153 Million) to be a good 13 ppg/6 apg option.

WIth a $70MM cap in 2015-16 increased to a $94.14MM cap this year (and a luxury tax limit of $113.29MM), teams had to spend upwards of $21MM anywhere they could last year and will need to increase to a $102MM cap (w/$122MM luxury tax limit) in 2017-18 (est), so they have another $7MM per year or so to throw at someone along with any catchup if they didn't have sufficient openings to meet cap without exceeding the 5/25% or 30% provisions on individual players.

It's a good time to be pretty good but not great in the NBA. I don't know the Celtics specific cap situation, but Ainge might just have money he has to spend anyway.

The problem with this is that the consequences of teams like the Blazers spending $18 mil per year on Crabbe, are unknown today. These owners had access to a higher cap, and spent it. However, I thought they priced a lot of guys over and above what they actually deserve. On a percentage basis vs. the the old cap number, some of these deals dont look bad. However, I think teams would have quite a bit of pause paying a 5'9" PG the max, regardless of how great he has been performing.

I think well see some teams spending a bit more cautiously, as guys like Loul Deng and Tomofey Mozgov are already horrendous contracts.

[TucsonClip]

If Lauri shapes up to be a Dirk Nowitzki type offensive player, he does not need to be a "rim protector".

The whole "unicorn" thing is overplayed. Tall, Offensive killers like Lauri are not seen often.

Tall offensive killers like Dirk are not seen very often. Thats the actual point. I like Lauri, but there are good amount of 6'10"+ guys who can stroke it from three. The fact that he is shooting like this at age 19 is what is unique. The hope is the rest of his game develops enough to make him better than the rest of those guys in the league.

[EVCat]

The problem with this is that the consequences of teams like the Blazers spending $18 mil per year on Crabbe, are unknown today. These owners had access to a higher cap, and spent it. However, I thought they priced a lot of guys over and above what they actually deserve. On a percentage basis vs. the the old cap number, some of these deals dont look bad. However, I think teams would have quite a bit of pause paying a 5'9" PG the max, regardless of how great he has been performing.

I think well see some teams spending a bit more cautiously, as guys like Loul Deng and Tomofey Mozgov are already horrendous contracts.

But they literally didn't have a choice. The new CBA was "You must spend 90% of the cap".

and other bargaining provisions limited short term contracts for veterans. So it was either give everyone on the bench $6MM or give a contributor a super max. There was no real way to structure it to give less money long term without literally giving a mattress full to non-contributors. FAs last year were just at the right place at the right time. Not only was the money a must spend, it was the market because it was must-spend, so even if you could structure to save a couple million in 2019 by loading up shorter term non-vet contracts, you were hurting yourself right now by not participating in the real player market. Plus, with the must-spend nature, it wasn't worth it to squeeze a few 2020 dollars on non-vet structuring/overpaying shorter term eligible contracts, because the cap keeps increasing with revenue and as long as you are making it, you are spending 90% of 51.4% of it anyway, so the line would keep moving anyway. It was like vouchers or strip club cash instead of cash...it has to be spent tonight only.

The owners not only had access to a higher cap, they had a new provision requiring them to spend it NOW. If you have a bag of money and have to give it to someone, might as well give it to someone you know, even if they aren't great friends, than someone you don't talk to.

[TucsonClip]

But they literally didn't have a choice. The new CBA was "You must spend 90% of the cap".

and other bargaining provisions limited short term contracts for veterans. So it was either give everyone on the bench $6MM or give a contributor a super max. There was no real way to structure it to give less money long term without literally giving a mattress full to non-contributors. FAs last year were just at the right place at the right time. Not only was the money a must spend, it was the market because it was must-spend, so even if you could structure to save a couple million in 2019 by loading up shorter term non-vet contracts, you were hurting yourself right now by not participating in the real player market. Plus, with the must-spend nature, it wasn't worth it to squeeze a few 2020 dollars on non-vet structuring/overpaying shorter term eligible contracts, because the cap keeps increasing with revenue and as long as you are making it, you are spending 90% of 51.4% of it anyway, so the line would keep moving anyway. It was like vouchers or strip club cash instead of cash...it has to be spent tonight only.

The owners not only had access to a higher cap, they had a new provision requiring them to spend it NOW. If you have a bag of money and have to give it to someone, might as well give it to someone you know, even if they aren't great friends, than someone you don't talk to.

Thats not entirely true, as it read the same as the previous CBA. You dont have to spend 90% on contracts, but you will spend 90% on the players. The salary floor has been tweaked slightly, but, just as the previous one read, if your team salary doesnt reach the salary floor on the final game of the season, you pay the difference the players who were on the roster that season. The only thing that changed, for the most part, is that players a team trades for, starting next season, are pro-rated. Previously, you could trade for a player making $12 million, and his salary would be totaled on your books. Now, its pro-rated.

The market was give everyone a max, or near, because that was the market price. That doesnt mean thats what the CBA dictates. Additionally, there are now two-way contracts (16th and 17th roster spots), meaning teams can pay that extra $6 mil to continue development on a younger guy, or to take a shot on some veteran. Next, we are seeing teams with buyers remorse, and I know for a fact there are teams this summer, and next, who are going to take a scaled back approach towards offering massive deals to guys like Loul Deng, Allen Crabbe, Tomofey Mozgov, Joakim Noah, Ian Mahinimi, ect.

No doubt it is going to take some time for teams to accurately recalibrate the actual value of player, not just the market value. Your point at the end, regarding it being vouchers, is correct. They are vouchers right now, once those vouchers are expired, and there arent 20+ teams with $40 mil in cap space each summer, things will calm down. Thats my point.

Now a max is still going to be a max. I still question if someone offers Thomas a max last year, or three years ago, or five, even based on his current play. However, you are gonna have a few teams with $40 mil in cap space looking to make a splash. I suspect that Ainge will side with caution on Thomas, especially if he is able to land Fultz. That opens up a lot of options for Ainge to include him in a deal for Jimmy Butler, whom would be making half of Thomas' salary per year for two seasons, while retaining max cap space by matching salaries and then letting the Bulls make the decision on if they want to max him.

At least, thats what I would be trying to do.

[Spaceman Spiff]

What slump?

He's on his game offensively so far. He's dropped a couple nice dimes too.

[CalStateTempe]

Looking great tonight:

We need him to go far IMO.

[84Cat]

He is in full on beast mode tonight

[Alieberman]

He's playing under the basket not just taking 3s.... Miller using him wisely tonight

[PennZona20]

Best game I've seen him play in the paint on both sides all year.

This team goes as far as LM can take us.

[TheGreatCatsby]

He's our best 5.

[HiCat]

Very nice game

Lauri Markkanen scored 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting and pulled down 11 rebounds

[gumby]

What slump?

He's on his game offensively so far. He's dropped a couple nice dimes too.

The lefty pass to Dusan was erotic.

[HiCat]

Lauri upped his game!

26 pts 13 re 2 stls 1 ast

[g32knights]

He played well, albeit against a man defense again. The most impressive thing was his rebounding.

The problem comes when a team zones them, Lauri gets too three happy, and doesn't get into the paint.

[rgdeuce]

What he did last night had nothing to do w the defense they threw at us.

[Merkin]

[elriop20]

If we a top 3 draft pick this year then no excuses, let's get it done and make the final 4.

[CalStateTempe]

As lauri goes so goes the cats.

Trier should just accept it and keep dishing it to him.

[azcat49]

Like Barkley says, you have to have "that guy" in the tourney. LM is that guy so we have a chance.

I do think this is the year the PAC has a team in the FF. In fact I think we get two in and one if them plays on Monday

[Merkin]

[EVCat]

What he did last night had nothing to do w the defense they threw at us.

No kidding. The whole point is he creates match up nightmares everywhere. Zone, man...it doesn't matter. His amazing game had nothing to do with the defense played, and ultimately, his overall skill set suggests he would love to see a zone

When he goes down low, he is quicker, yet just as tall or taller, than the average college 5. He is stronger than people give him credit for. And he has to be guarded from 3 pt line to block.

A zone would not do anything to his effectiveness if he is playing in the post. In fact, as active as he has been on the boards, it would be more opportunity. And when he is on the perimeter, he is a dead straight shooter who had a bit of a slump, but no one ever in the history of the world has said "the best way to stop a high percentage 3-point shooter is to zone him". You get to Lauri by getting up under his feet and challenging him from long distance. If a team zones without an "and-one" to harass him, he will, on most nights, get good looks and kill a team. If I had to design a defense to stop Lauri and he was playing on the perimeter, I would use a small/quick guy to get into his grill M2M, then have a secondary defender keep an eye on him to come help if he gets in the paint. Similar to (this is going to date me) how the Suns used to use KJ to try to harass Jordan on the perimeter then send Thunder Dan over to hammer him in the paint.

I would not think "I want to zone Lauri Markkanen" though.

[Spaceman Spiff]

What he did last night had nothing to do w the defense they threw at us.

This weekend was a nice glimpse at what Lauri can do when he commits to attacking the rim instead of settling for jumpers. I want to see that Lauri all the time. The jumper will still be there, but getting to the rim is something he needs to start with.

[whatisee]

USC has Bennie Boatright for this game. Should be a good match up for Lauri

[Main Event]

[whatisee]

Sports Illustrated article

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/20 ... -nba-draft" target="_blank

[jsbowl16]

What he did last night had nothing to do w the defense they threw at us.

No kidding. The whole point is he creates match up nightmares everywhere. Zone, man...it doesn't matter. His amazing game had nothing to do with the defense played, and ultimately, his overall skill set suggests he would love to see a zone

When he goes down low, he is quicker, yet just as tall or taller, than the average college 5. He is stronger than people give him credit for. And he has to be guarded from 3 pt line to block.

A zone would not do anything to his effectiveness if he is playing in the post. In fact, as active as he has been on the boards, it would be more opportunity. And when he is on the perimeter, he is a dead straight shooter who had a bit of a slump, but no one ever in the history of the world has said "the best way to stop a high percentage 3-point shooter is to zone him". You get to Lauri by getting up under his feet and challenging him from long distance. If a team zones without an "and-one" to harass him, he will, on most nights, get good looks and kill a team. If I had to design a defense to stop Lauri and he was playing on the perimeter, I would use a small/quick guy to get into his grill M2M, then have a secondary defender keep an eye on him to come help if he gets in the paint. Similar to (this is going to date me) how the Suns used to use KJ to try to harass Jordan on the perimeter then send Thunder Dan over to hammer him in the paint.

I would not think "I want to zone Lauri Markkanen" though.

The problem is that when teams play zone against us, he floats on the perimeter and doesn't play in the post. If he is shooting the ball well that is fine but he went through a bit of a slump from the three point line including 1-6 this past weekend which makes him look very average against a zone. He will get drafted high because they don't play zone in the NBA but saying that the defense a team plays against him doesn't have an effect is wrong in my opinion. Maybe Miller will figure out how to get him touches in the post against a zone but we haven't seen it yet so I am not holding my breath.

[Spaceman Spiff]

What he did last night had nothing to do w the defense they threw at us.

No kidding. The whole point is he creates match up nightmares everywhere. Zone, man...it doesn't matter. His amazing game had nothing to do with the defense played, and ultimately, his overall skill set suggests he would love to see a zone

When he goes down low, he is quicker, yet just as tall or taller, than the average college 5. He is stronger than people give him credit for. And he has to be guarded from 3 pt line to block.

A zone would not do anything to his effectiveness if he is playing in the post. In fact, as active as he has been on the boards, it would be more opportunity. And when he is on the perimeter, he is a dead straight shooter who had a bit of a slump, but no one ever in the history of the world has said "the best way to stop a high percentage 3-point shooter is to zone him". You get to Lauri by getting up under his feet and challenging him from long distance. If a team zones without an "and-one" to harass him, he will, on most nights, get good looks and kill a team. If I had to design a defense to stop Lauri and he was playing on the perimeter, I would use a small/quick guy to get into his grill M2M, then have a secondary defender keep an eye on him to come help if he gets in the paint. Similar to (this is going to date me) how the Suns used to use KJ to try to harass Jordan on the perimeter then send Thunder Dan over to hammer him in the paint.

I would not think "I want to zone Lauri Markkanen" though.

The problem is that when teams play zone against us, he floats on the perimeter and doesn't play in the post. If he is shooting the ball well that is fine but he went through a bit of a slump from the three point line including 1-6 this past weekend which makes him look very average against a zone. He will get drafted high because they don't play zone in the NBA but saying that the defense a team plays against him doesn't have an effect is wrong in my opinion. Maybe Miller will figure out how to get him touches in the post against a zone but we haven't seen it yet so I am not holding my breath.

I would disagree to the extent that I think Lauri's aggressiveness dictates the shots he gets. WSU and UW zoned us a bit, and he got better shots. I agree he has a tendency to float the perimeter, but what cured that was him being aggressive in seeking out low post touches.

Lauri has the skill to do what he wants. The degree to which he realizes that and pushes himself into that aggressive mindset is what will dictate what he can do.

[Longhorned]

What he did last night had nothing to do w the defense they threw at us.

No kidding. The whole point is he creates match up nightmares everywhere. Zone, man...it doesn't matter. His amazing game had nothing to do with the defense played, and ultimately, his overall skill set suggests he would love to see a zone

When he goes down low, he is quicker, yet just as tall or taller, than the average college 5. He is stronger than people give him credit for. And he has to be guarded from 3 pt line to block.

A zone would not do anything to his effectiveness if he is playing in the post. In fact, as active as he has been on the boards, it would be more opportunity. And when he is on the perimeter, he is a dead straight shooter who had a bit of a slump, but no one ever in the history of the world has said "the best way to stop a high percentage 3-point shooter is to zone him". You get to Lauri by getting up under his feet and challenging him from long distance. If a team zones without an "and-one" to harass him, he will, on most nights, get good looks and kill a team. If I had to design a defense to stop Lauri and he was playing on the perimeter, I would use a small/quick guy to get into his grill M2M, then have a secondary defender keep an eye on him to come help if he gets in the paint. Similar to (this is going to date me) how the Suns used to use KJ to try to harass Jordan on the perimeter then send Thunder Dan over to hammer him in the paint.

I would not think "I want to zone Lauri Markkanen" though.

The problem is that when teams play zone against us, he floats on the perimeter and doesn't play in the post. If he is shooting the ball well that is fine but he went through a bit of a slump from the three point line including 1-6 this past weekend which makes him look very average against a zone. He will get drafted high because they don't play zone in the NBA but saying that the defense a team plays against him doesn't have an effect is wrong in my opinion. Maybe Miller will figure out how to get him touches in the post against a zone but we haven't seen it yet so I am not holding my breath.

You're right that the difficulty is getting the ball to any big in the block, and that's a separate question from Markkanen's strength in scoring off offensive rebounds, which increases against a zone. Arizona needs to break the zone, and as Spiff brought up recently, we'd expect Arizona's guards to run the ball through Markkanen in the high post, which we haven't seen this year. But like you, I don't see how Markkanen receives entry passes in the block against a 2-3 zone like we've seen more recently against man defenses. A justification for him floating outside is the way our guards are attack the zone on the dribble and sometimes feed the perimeter from the paint, where an extra pass along the perimeter finds Markkanen.

Attacking the rim on the dribble may be a better game plan against a zone than running the ball through Markkanen at the top of the key, but I'm not smart enough to understand why. My untrained eyes just see is a lot of turnovers, bricked shots from distance, and spans of several minutes without a field goal.

[Longhorned]

What he did last night had nothing to do w the defense they threw at us.

No kidding. The whole point is he creates match up nightmares everywhere. Zone, man...it doesn't matter. His amazing game had nothing to do with the defense played, and ultimately, his overall skill set suggests he would love to see a zone

When he goes down low, he is quicker, yet just as tall or taller, than the average college 5. He is stronger than people give him credit for. And he has to be guarded from 3 pt line to block.

A zone would not do anything to his effectiveness if he is playing in the post. In fact, as active as he has been on the boards, it would be more opportunity. And when he is on the perimeter, he is a dead straight shooter who had a bit of a slump, but no one ever in the history of the world has said "the best way to stop a high percentage 3-point shooter is to zone him". You get to Lauri by getting up under his feet and challenging him from long distance. If a team zones without an "and-one" to harass him, he will, on most nights, get good looks and kill a team. If I had to design a defense to stop Lauri and he was playing on the perimeter, I would use a small/quick guy to get into his grill M2M, then have a secondary defender keep an eye on him to come help if he gets in the paint. Similar to (this is going to date me) how the Suns used to use KJ to try to harass Jordan on the perimeter then send Thunder Dan over to hammer him in the paint.

I would not think "I want to zone Lauri Markkanen" though.

The problem is that when teams play zone against us, he floats on the perimeter and doesn't play in the post. If he is shooting the ball well that is fine but he went through a bit of a slump from the three point line including 1-6 this past weekend which makes him look very average against a zone. He will get drafted high because they don't play zone in the NBA but saying that the defense a team plays against him doesn't have an effect is wrong in my opinion. Maybe Miller will figure out how to get him touches in the post against a zone but we haven't seen it yet so I am not holding my breath.

I would disagree to the extent that I think Lauri's aggressiveness dictates the shots he gets. WSU and UW zoned us a bit, and he got better shots. I agree he has a tendency to float the perimeter, but what cured that was him being aggressive in seeking out low post touches.

Lauri has the skill to do what he wants. The degree to which he realizes that and pushes himself into that aggressive mindset is what will dictate what he can do.

Nothing about Markkanen would surprise me. I just haven't seen that yet, but would love to. I guess I could see Trier or PJC finding him, but I'd also like to see Chance find him from the circle.

[EVCat]

Sports Illustrated article

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/20 ... -nba-draft" target="_blank

Markkanen averages 15.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while firing at a 49.8% clip overall and 45.7% from three-point range. His offensive rating (135.2) is fourth nationally among players who use at least 20% of their team’s possessions. His Win Shares total (5.4) is tied for 10th in the country, a spot shared with Player of the Year contenders like Kansas’s Frank Mason and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball.

Maybe we are overstating his "slump" or his lack of value on the perimeter against the zone...

[Longhorned]

Sports Illustrated article

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/20 ... -nba-draft" target="_blank

Markkanen averages 15.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while firing at a 49.8% clip overall and 45.7% from three-point range. His offensive rating (135.2) is fourth nationally among players who use at least 20% of their team’s possessions. His Win Shares total (5.4) is tied for 10th in the country, a spot shared with Player of the Year contenders like Kansas’s Frank Mason and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball.

Maybe we are overstating his "slump" or his lack of value on the perimeter against the zone...

Overstating claims initiates and extends discussions. Arizona plays twice a week, but we like to talk about basketball all the time.

[Puerco]

Sports Illustrated article

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/20 ... -nba-draft" target="_blank

Markkanen averages 15.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while firing at a 49.8% clip overall and 45.7% from three-point range. His offensive rating (135.2) is fourth nationally among players who use at least 20% of their team’s possessions. His Win Shares total (5.4) is tied for 10th in the country, a spot shared with Player of the Year contenders like Kansas’s Frank Mason and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball.

Maybe we are overstating his "slump" or his lack of value on the perimeter against the zone...

Don't think it's been overstated. Lauri was shooting 50% from 3 for the season a few weeks ago. I think it shows the magnitude of his outside shooting slump that he's dropped 5% points on the season in just a few weeks.

[pokinmik]

Having the flu is a pretty legit excuse to be in a slump for the Oregon trail week.

[gumby]

Heard a reference to hitting "the mythical wall." If it's mythical, why would that be a problem? Speaking of mythical walls ...

[scumdevils86]

Sports Illustrated article

http://www.si.com/college-basketball/20 ... -nba-draft" target="_blank

Markkanen averages 15.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while firing at a 49.8% clip overall and 45.7% from three-point range. His offensive rating (135.2) is fourth nationally among players who use at least 20% of their team’s possessions. His Win Shares total (5.4) is tied for 10th in the country, a spot shared with Player of the Year contenders like Kansas’s Frank Mason and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball.

Maybe we are overstating his "slump" or his lack of value on the perimeter against the zone...

Don't think it's been overstated. Lauri was shooting 50% from 3 for the season a few weeks ago. I think it shows the magnitude of his outside shooting slump that he's dropped 5% points on the season in just a few weeks.

yup. 5/22 on 3 pointers the last 6 games.

[Spaceman Spiff]

Heard a reference to hitting "the mythical wall." If it's mythical, why would that be a problem? Speaking of mythical walls ...

Is this about Matt Damon's new movie? It looks terrible.

[RichardCranium]

Lauri Markkanen and the plane ride that may land Arizona in the Final Four

The Finnish phenom is, potentially, an all-timer. A towering sharpshooter, Markkanen comes from a basketball family, bolstered in promise by Möttölä’s tutoring. Markkanen could be the puzzle-solver. He could be the guy to lift Arizona coach Sean Miller to the first Final Four of his career, and he could be the next European-born NBA superstar. But beyond that, most importantly, he could change basketball’s popularity in his home country forever. Because truly great hardwood players don’t come from the Nordic. Not until now.

Speaking to him by phone, I ask him what Helsinki was like, what he misses about Finland.

“One thing I like to do, but I haven’t had a chance, is I like playing hockey with my friends,” he said. “I like to watch it, too. It’s been a long time.”

A few seconds go by.

“I wish I had a chance to do that again. It’s been three or four years.”

Now imagine the 7-footer on skates. And dominating.

Umm. Doesn't UA have a pretty decent club hockey team? He couldn't play for real of course, too dangerous, but he might be able to coach if he's any good.

[ASUHATER!]

The club hockey team has been mediocre to dogshit for a good decade now. Mid 80s to the mid 2000s they were one of the best...But they've been awful for a while.

[Longhorned]

I'd just go watch more roller derby.



(That's me officiating)

[ghostwhitehorse]

I'd just go watch more roller derby.



(That's me officiating)

We need a roller derby forum.

[RichardCranium]

The daughter of one of our best friends was in roller derby. She was baadaass. Till she got injured.

Big resurgence in Oz about 10 years ago. Dunno where its at these days.

[Merkin]

Still mad at you guys for not voting Raquel hottest of all time.

[Merkin]

[azcat49]

No shit Merk, Rocks was the hottest of all time. As for LM that article was intriguing. I think he should come back next year and work on those issues they say he has