Lauri Markkanen’s emotional tells are unchanging.
A big win, a bad loss, a 35-point showcase game, a seven-point head-scratcher? Go ahead and try reading his face post-game to distinguish what exactly happened on the court minutes earlier.
“That’s why people from Finland are such good goalies,’’ Markkanen once joked about his unwavering demeanor.
And if this was hockey, great. But this is the Association. An NBA landscape that embraces emotion from its athletes. That’s why the Bulls have been all but begging Markkanen to show some more fire this season.
Get angry at teammates if they miss you on an open back-side three, flex back at a Bobby Portis, demand the ball. Something, anything.
Because at 3-6 with some awful-looking losses already this season, the Bulls know this rebuild will only go as far as the 7-foot versatile big man will take them. Yes, Zach LaVine is also the other lead dog opposite Markkanen in this, but this roster was built to be a duet.
“Heartbeat of the team … that’s a good point,’’ guard Tomas Satoransky said of Markkanen after the win in Atlanta. “I will say he’s trying to play the right way, but he still has to be aggressive. I think [against the Hawks] he made a lot of good passes, and that’s what the coaching staff wants from him, that’s what we want from him.
“Because we share the ball well, there’s open shots, and we’re trying to still get used to each other. I think he’s fighting a little bit with the way we’re sharing the ball, he stops being aggressive. We need him to be [aggressive], because that will fit with Lauri’s biggest strength.’’
It certainly will, and does.
Passive Lauri? Not good. When Markkanen is passive it doesn’t just affect his offense, but he becomes lethargic on defense and in rebounding the ball. There’s a reason coach Jim Boylen benched him in back-to-back games last week during fourth-quarter crunch time.
When he’s aggressive and active, it lifts his entire game. Case in point: Wednesday night in Atlanta.
Yes, the 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting was tolerable, but Markkanen also handed out four assists, and more importantly, registered three blocks,
The on switch was flipped. The Bulls are hoping it stays on.
Through his first nine games, Markkanen has failed to score double digits three times already, and once has he scored over 20, when he hung 35 on Charlotte in the season opener. He’s shooting just 26.5 from three-point range, and only averaging 7.9 rebounds.
A reminder: this was the same guy who dominated in an 11-game stint last February, averaging 26 points and 12.2 rebounds, while shooting 34.8 from three-point range. He also only had four single-digit games all of last season, including 34 straight games in double digits.
Seven points on 2-for-8 shooting against the Lakers Tuesday night? Inexcusable.
“Nah,’’ Markkanen said, when asked if he’s concerned with his lack of scoring. “We’re still figuring out what our roles are, where our points are going to come from, you know, so I’m not worried. You play enough basketball, so you know we’ll keep working on it. We’ll figure it out.’’
Markkanen, however, at least acknowledged one thing — it was time for some self-assessing.
“Yeah, part of it is I’m looking in the mirror right after games, see what I can do better,’’ Markkanen said. “[Being aggressive] is definitely one part of that.’’
Then he threw a towel over his shoulder and started walking to the back of the Hawks’ visiting locker room.
“That’s all you’re going to get from me,’’ he said with a laugh.
At least there was a laugh. Some emotion.
Baby steps.
