On Tuesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers served as hosts to the Chicago Bulls in what was the first of four scheduled meetings between the two teams this season. When the dust settled inside Quicken Loans Arena, the Cavs, led by LeBron James’ 34 points and 13 rebounds, came away with a win, but it didn’t come easy.
Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen, a 20-year-old Finnish-born player who has been thrust into the starting lineup due to a recent quarrel between his teammates, had the best game of his young career on Tuesday night. In his 32 minutes of playing time, Markkanen turned in a career-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field (5-of-8 from downtown) and eight rebounds. Seventeen of Markannen’s points came in the first half alone, a feat that caught the attention of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
Via Vincent Goodwill of NBCSports.com:
“(He’s) very confident,” James said after Tuesday night’s 119-112 victory over the Bulls. “Very confident. Watched him a lot at Arizona, Had to stay up very late to watch those Arizona games. But very confident kid. Can shoot the heck out of the ball. He’s going to continue to get better.”
“He’s going to continue to get better,” James continued. “The best thing about it is he’s getting an opportunity. So you can make mistakes and learn on the fly. But he’s going to play a lot because he’s learning. He’s a good player.”
Wade, a player who has seen greatness on many levels, offered similar respects to Markannen, who was selected with the 7th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. “Flash,” as Wade is known, said he was not surprised by the seven-footer’s smooth stroke.
“Not surprised,” Wade said of Markkanen. “You can see if a guy knows how to play basketball when you first see him, right away. In the preseason, we all said he can play. No matter his age he can play basketball. He’s aggressive. He’s looking for his shot. He understands they need him to score the basketball.”
Though he is a rookie, Markkanen has a great opportunity to make a name for himself as a member of his team’s starting rotation. If they aren’t already doing so, opposing sides will need to start scouting him soon, lest they pay the price in rapid-release three-balls.