NEWSLETTER
Hey, that’s good news!
The Chicago Bulls have officially announced that Lauri Markkanen will return to action tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves!
Welcome back, @MarkkanenLauri!
Lauri will start tonight vs. Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/H0H7B1T6GF
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) March 4, 2020
The Finnisher missed the Bulls last 15 games with a pelvis injury, but he did start all 46 games before that.
Even still, his season has gone all but according to plan. With one more year under his belt, many expected the NBA junior to take a nice step toward becoming an All-Star-caliber player. Unfortunately, after a 35-point season opener, Markkanen pretty much hit a wall. He struggled all season to find any firm level of consistency, averaging career-lows in categories like points per game, rebounds per game, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, and field goal attempts.
In other words, Markkanen has shown nothing but regression during the 2019-20 campaign, and it’s hard to put a finger exactly on why. Chances are, it’s partly a “him” problem, and partly a confluence of failures around him, including Jim Boylen’s coaching style/decision-making, as well as a number of small injuries.
Indeed, when Markkanen followed up his 35-point opening night with two 9-point games, it almost immediately felt like something was off. Many began to speculate that he was playing hurt, and Boylen spilled the beans that he was playing through a sore oblique. Later in the season, Markkanen also played through a bummed-up ankle. All in all, it’s hard to say what games he has played fully healthy this season, so hopefully, these last six weeks off have allowed for a much-needed boost.
Incidentally, the last time he played (January 22nd) was against the Timberwolves, and he had a pretty solid game with 21 points and 6 rebounds. He helped the Bulls pull off the 117-110 victory, and with no Karl-Anthony Towns in for tonight’s game, he could very well have a nice first game back.
However, much like the Bulls other two recent returnees, Markkanen will be on a minutes restriction. The big man will start, but he will only play 18-20 minutes, according to K.C. Johnson.
Just talked to Jim Boylen at shootaround in Minny. Lauri Markkanen will start and play 18-20 minutes vs. TWolves. Wendell Carter Jr. will start and play 22-24. Otto Porter Jr. will come off bench and play 20-22 minutes.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) March 4, 2020
Otto Porter (18-20) and Wendell Carter Jr. (22-24) will also both stay on a minute restriction.
In a somewhat surprising move, Boylen will have Porter come off the bench for the second-straight game. The veteran forward is still working his way back, so I understand the move, but he also showed very few signs of rust in his 18-point performance on Monday night.
“More balance,” Boylen told Johnson. “He feels and we feel for his minutes, the way he can play 4 or 5, sit through the quarter break and play again is really good for him.”
I mean, I like that Coby White will get some more minutes with a solid veteran, but it should only be a matter of time before he’s back in the starting lineup. Regardless, I’m just happy we’ll finally get to see a majority (LaVine is still out tonight) of the Bulls key players all on the floor again … it’s truly been a long time coming.
