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Lauri Markkanen Hype & Appreciation Thread

fishonjazz said:
Agreed. Yet I don't think he gets in
I feel like our team had more hype last year

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The hype is heating up.

It is still an uphill battle though, but I agree with what Cy said. If we are firmly in the mix then media and coaches will help him.

Last year around Christmas we made a concerted effort to give him the ball more and that also boosted his campaign. But that wont happen now that we are clicking and winning.
 
underdog said:
I think Lauri has improved from last year. He's looking opportunities to pass more than before. He's also constantly creating open lanes for his teammates by setting screens, he has also learnt to deal with defenders who chase him, and his overall defense is better than last year. I just wish we had a top playmaker to give him more shot attempts. He now averages only 16.3 FGA per game which is way too low considering his efficiency.
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I agree that his overall defense has improved. However, last season Lauri played more as a primary defender against the league's elite 3s and he was actually pretty decent in that role. The sample size is smaller this year, but it seems that Lauri has had more challenges to stay in front against the quicker wings.

During the last 10 games I have seen perhaps the best passes of Lauri's career. The improved chemistry plays a huge role, but the timing of those lob and wrap around passes to Kessler and Collins has really been on point. Last season, Lauri's best option was always to take his own shot from the drive. Firstly, because he was that damn efficient. Secondly, his passes were constantly too telegraphed.
 
fishonjazz said:
He is amazing. By far our best player. It's not even close. Should be an allstar but likely won't be

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Yes, he likely is. His passing has improved and due to his improved status (MIP, allstar, etc.) this year should be harder for him, BUT that probably opens up more opportunities for others on the team. JC (Clakson) has been on fire (scoring+passing), Sexton pretty much also. The other JC (Collins) has been pretty consistent in recent games also. Fontecchio and Dunn might not be starters on all the other NBA teams, but they sure do well in Utah (both play pretty important roles in defense and Fontecchio is a solid 3-point option (even if his numbers slightly dropped in recent games). Having the players like Olynyk, Clarkson, Kessler come of the bench makes for a very strong 2nd unit. Keyonte's still young, but getting there soon and Agbaji is a plus player also.
 
If we keep winning he will get in. If we drop off and dont look like a playoff team he wont make it. There is a lot of guys with good stats and teams ahead of us. He is the 13th highest scorer per game in the West. So it could be a little rough and he is likely overlooked if we dont make some noise over the next month, which I think we are and will keep on doin.
 
underdog said:
I think Lauri has improved from last year. He's looking opportunities to pass more than before. He's also constantly creating open lanes for his teammates by setting screens, he has also learnt to deal with defenders who chase him, and his overall defense is better than last year. I just wish we had a top playmaker to give him more shot attempts. He now averages only 16.3 FGA per game which is way too low considering his efficiency.
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Only thing I feel like Lauri has gotten worse at is guarding the perimeter. And he probably isn't worse, he's just doing it more often
 
Saint Cy of JFC said:
Only thing I feel like Lauri has gotten worse at is guarding the perimeter. And he probably isn't worse, he's just doing it more often
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I agree that we have seen more blow by's, but its related to increased volume, not decreased quality. I think his defense is ok. Not great, but not terrible either. Definitely works hard on that end as well.

I'm ironically happy that we have some clearly worse 1on1 defenders, as there is less motivation for teams to target Lauri when you can target Sexton, Keyonte or KO and likely score more. That way we avoid the problem that comes with Young, Harden, Luka or Lavine, who are just inviting you to wear them out and give back a lot of the points they score on the other end .
 
HermanG said:
I agree that we have seen more blow by's, but its related to increased volume, not decreased quality. I think his defense is ok. Not great, but not terrible either. Definitely works hard on that end as well.

I'm ironically happy that we have some clearly worse 1on1 defenders, as there is less motivation for teams to target Lauri when you can target Sexton, Keyonte or KO and likely score more. That way we avoid the problem that comes with Young, Harden, Luka or Lavine, who are just inviting you to wear them out and give back a lot of the points they score on the other end .
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I think Lauri is getting just as worn out or more than those guys on defense based on distance traveled on defense. I think he is constantly running after guys who are moving a lot.
 
Last year we all talked about Lauri non stop on jazzfanz.
Now, as herman mentioned, a thread like this gets back to page 9 while we have a bunch of threads about tht, kessler, flipowski, sexton etc getting more burn. In the gamethread Lauri will be quietly tearing it up all game and get a small amount of mentions. And we are talking about the hard core jazz fans here. That makes me feel like his hype just isn't the same even though it should be the same or greater.
 
fishonjazz said:
Last year we all talked about Lauri non stop on jazzfanz.
Now, as herman mentioned, a thread like this gets back to page 9 while we have a bunch of threads about tht, kessler, flipowski, sexton etc getting more burn. In the gamethread Lauri will be quietly tearing it up all game and get a small amount of mentions. And we are talking about the hard core jazz fans here. That makes me feel like his hype just isn't the same even though it should be the same or greater.
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I take it as he is consistent and we know what we have with him a really good player. Its the rest of the team that has concerns and has ups and downs to talk about. But you could be right, he is less a surprise this year.
 
Step-Back Lauri said:
Is Lauri leveling up again? Improvements in playmaking, defense, and it seems that with leadership as well. If he can keep this up and lead the Jazz for playoffs, I would guess All NBA honors come close.
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His playmaking and leadership has definitely gotten better.
I didn't think he would be better this season than last but he is.

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He's secured his all star bid the last little stretch. I love that he's been a little more aggressive lately as well. He needs to keep that up he can get buckets when he wants at a high level. We'll need that in the playoffs!
 
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