Basketball | Lauri Markkanen only dominated for a moment and the winning streak was broken: “You should be able to win every set the same way”, he told HS

Washington

Lauri Markkanen and the Utah Jazz’s winning streak fell to four in the NBA basketball league. The sensational team of the early season lost to the middle class Washington Wizards by points 112–121 early on Sunday Finnish time.

The Jazz are still the top team in the Western Conference after winning 10 out of 14 games.

It fell to the softness of its defense this time. The Wizards got to the shooting positions far too easily, and even Markkanenka didn’t get a clean sheet, even though he was the second most efficient player on his team with 17 points. Back man Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points.

“We didn’t get the stops we needed in defense. They got into their comfort zone and threw everything in,” Markkanen told HS.

Markkanen played the most of his team again, 31 minutes. He had five rebounds and one assist. He sank one of three three-pointers, and he dunked twice.

In Finnish especially at the beginning it was very difficult to get under the basket, which he has made a huge impact on this season. He scored only five points in the first half.

On the other hand, his best moments in his own end came right in the first quarter, when he made two spectacular blocks, the only ones of the match. In addition to them, the Jazz only got one block against the Wizards’ eight in the entire match, which showed the essential difference in the stretching ability of the teams’ defenses.

In the third quarter, Markkanen got into his element again and scored ten points with just twos. Back then, he almost single-handedly kept Jazz in the game. Perhaps the best was the drive-through jack, where he received a liberating vertical pass after first disrupting the opponent’s throw to the magpies himself.

“I didn’t really find a rhythm in the first half. In the second one, I applied for places more aggressively, then it opened up a bit. You should be able to draw every set in the same way.”

The match the figure was the tallest player on the court, the Wizards’ 221-centimeter Latvian Kristaps Porziņģiswho scored 31 points and grabbed ten rebounds.

It was telling when, in the last quarter, Jazz still tried to adjust the tension, but Porziņģis took the reins. First, he reached for the rebound in the basket from Markkanen’s jumps. Moments later, the Finn stretched out his hand in the hole, but it was too late to help, when Porziņģis was able to calmly score a three-pointer that felt decisive.

“You didn’t see Lauri at his best. He played quite well, a decent job on the offensive end, but defensively he didn’t have his best night, like not many others. I wouldn’t blame Lauri for that,” Jazz’s head coach Will Hardy said to HS.

“Lauri deserves enormous recognition. He has been fantastic at both ends of the court this season. People naturally talk about his offensive game because of his scoring and efficiency. But I don’t think he gets enough credit for his defense. He often guards top players.”

Markkanen the game has changed quite a bit this season. He is apparently faster, more resilient and more aggressive than before.

Markkanen’s average points per game is by far the best in his NBA career, 22.3. What is striking is that for the first time in his career, he throws more doubles than triples. According to Markkanen, it’s not planned, but a bolder drive to the basket is.

Read more: Lauri Markkanen is dunking more than ever before, the throwing percentage is huge

“I use the places that come. I have the drive to go to the basket, and the coach helps me get the ball in the right places,” he said.

“It’s easier to make baskets from there than standing behind the arc. I’m trying to diversify the game. Of course I shoot threes when those spots open up, but maybe it hasn’t opened up that much.”

Coach Hardy offered a lot of praise for Markkanen’s game change.

“We put Lauri in different situations, and he makes the decisions himself. He reads the defense. I think his throwing ability is respected based on what’s been seen in his career,” Hardy said, implying that opponents may be inclined to be wary of Markkanen’s long throws in particular.

“Lauri chooses his position very well, he is aware of his own size and athleticism. He can take advantage of that against smaller defenders, apply pressure and attack the basket. He makes really good decisions on the offensive end and doesn’t settle for jump shots.”

Jazz a squat in Washington can be considered a statistical loss that will inevitably occur over a long season.

In the previous game in Atlanta, three days earlier, the Jazz were, on the contrary, the underdog, and not least because of their tight match pace. Still, it won, even with the last quarter on the clock. The team seems to be in top shape. The defeat in Washington wasn’t due to laziness either.

Coach Hardy has been told having put his players through quite a bit of fitness training before the season. However, Markkanen did not consider it even necessarily the hardest of his NBA career.

“I myself was in such good shape from the European Championships that it didn’t cause any difficulties,” said Markkanen. However, he confirmed that the team seems to be able to handle the games from start to finish just fine.

“Our goal is to run a lot and get a tempo where the opponent can’t keep up and gets tired at the end.”

Markkanen speculated that Utah’s high atmosphere was part of the reason for the success. The team’s hometown, Salt Lake City, is about 1,300 meters above sea level.

“You can feel it when you get there.”

Read more: Lauri Markkanen’s Utah got into a merciless ruckus, which can now be seen on the scoreboard

Jazz there are no superstars in the team, but Markkanen has been the brightest of the stars. The entire autumn has been updated, what kind of rough diamond the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers let go of.

It is clear from everything that Markkanen is the soul of his team. He dares to take on a role and is not afraid of losing the ball when driving to the basket, but he unselfishly distributes the ball to others as well.

Does the position of leader feel natural?

“I try to take responsibility, but I still try to play the right way, that is, share with my friends if they are free. Such a balance model.”

When Markkanen played in Chicago, the NBA All-Star Game was played in Chicago. When he played last season in Cleveland, it was in Cleveland. This season, it is, of course, in Salt Lake City.

Markkanen has mentioned more than once that being selected for the star match is one of his career goals. In previous seasons, the selection has not been seriously discussed, but if Markkanen’s and Jazz’s game continues through the winter like last fall, it will be very close.

“It’s in the mind that it motivates to play better,” Markkanen admitted.

“It will happen if it happens, and it will happen if I can continue to play at a high level and above all if we can continue to win.”

It would be one of the greatest achievements in the history of Finnish football – not because of the All Stars glory itself, but because it would mean that Markkanen would have led his team to success in perhaps the toughest professional sports league in the world.