Jazz Player Profile: Lauri Markkanen's 2023 Outlook
Over the coming months of the offseason, I will review each currently contracted Utah Jazz player for the 2023-2024 season. The analysis will come both individually and as a team player, as well as how they've grown and where they can improve going into the season.
The first Jazz player I will profile is All-Star Lauri Markkanen.
In the 2022-23 season, Markkanen took one of the greatest leaps an NBA player can make. He went from being a marginal role player to an All-Star starter and a runaway winner for the Most Improved Player of the Year.
After four years in the NBA, Markkanen has found a home where his true talent has been unlocked. The question now is, where does he go from here?
Markkanen certainly proved his consistency over an entire season while making those 30-point games look like they were a breeze. The 26-year-old will look to continue to prove his consistency and lead a young Jazz team that will feature a trio of 2023 first-round draft picks.
The Jazz knew what Markkanen was capable of as an individual, both offensively and defensively, with few expectations, but now, expectations will be set higher than ever, and pressure will be on the young breakout star to perform and lead.
Markkanen has set the bar high for any individual growth, as he was one of only 14 players in the league to average over 25 points per game. Markkanen showed that he can score in a myriad of ways, but mostly by getting set up by his teammates.
Of Markkanen’s 571 made field goals for the season, only 143 of those were unassisted. Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, and Talen Horton Tucker accounted for 200 of his assisted buckets.
With Conley gone and Clarkson and 'THT' set to hit the free-agent market, Markkanen could be looking at increased usage with the Jazz and the type of playmaking role he has yet to take on in his young career. All of this will be asked as opposing teams will understand Markkanen's game better and be more focused on slowing him down defensively.
Markkanen's growth may never match what he accomplished this past season, but now the stakes will be higher, and he will prove whether he's ready to take the next step in leading a team to the playoffs and being the playmaker that the 2023-24 Jazz will need.
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