At the start of the season, the Utah Jazz became the most surprising story in the NBA.
Most people had written the team off during the summer after they traded away Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, among others.
Many people assumed they were going to be a team intent on tanking.
But they got off to a killer start and were at the top of the standings, albeit briefly.
They have now sunk to the tenth spot in the West but are still playing their hearts out every night.
Lauri Markkanen over his last 10 games:
– 28.6 PPG
– 8.0 RPG
– 53.0% FG
– 44.8% 3PT
– 93.2% FTAll-Star numbers 🌟🎵 pic.twitter.com/rytdclxS4I
— The Lead (@TheLeadSM) January 4, 2023
And the team’s brightest star, Lauri Markkanen, has been electric all season long.
Over his last ten games, the Finnisher has averaged 28.6 points and 8 rebounds on 53% from the field and 44.8% from the three-point line.
Markkanen has been in the league for five years now but he has finally found his perfect fit in Utah and the rest of the league has become well aware of what he can do.
His season average right now is 23.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.9 assists.
That’s a lot better than last season when he was in Cleveland, scoring 14.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.
Markkanen has become the leader of his team in ways that he never was when playing for the Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls.
The 7-foot forward has a lot of raw skill and great smarts and is consistently fighting through every game from beginning to end.
He is averaging 34.1 minutes a game, which is quite a lot for a star of his caliber.
Will the Jazz bounce back from their downward trend and make the playoffs this year?
If so, it’ll be because Markkanen continues to play like a brand-new All-Star.
