Chicago Bulls' Markkanen trying to learn from late-game playing time
No basketball player is going to enjoy a 3-18 start to his professional career.
But despite all the losses, Lauri Markkanen's introduction to the NBA has come with a silver lining. With several players missing at the start of the season, Markkanen has been a regular in crunchtime and has the green light to shoot.
He hasn't always been successful, as the Bulls' record shows, but he's getting late-game experience many rookies don't receive.
"It has its benefits just to learn from my mistakes and get the opportunity to try something," Markkanen said after Friday's loss to Sacramento. "Today it didn't go in, but just got to learn from it. Of course you learn stuff on the bench from the old guys when you're winning, but in the long run it's good to get the opportunity to play right away. I've just got to be more efficient."
Friday's game actually offered some mixed results. Markkanen hit a 3-pointer that gave the Bulls a 93-92 lead with 7:25 left. He scored again on a driving bank to bring his team within a point with 4:12 remaining.
After that, he had a few missteps. Markkanen got two chances late in the game while the Bulls trailed by 2. One time, he drove to the basket and missed a tough bank shot with Willie Cauley-Stein in his face. Then he missed a 3-pointer with 1:14 left that he might have tossed up too quickly.
"The biggest thing is learning from mistakes that are being made right now and learning from the things we are doing well," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "We watch a lot of film with this group and try to correct things."
A look at the NBA rookie statistics shows that a lot of players in this class are getting ample fourth-quarter playing time, led by Philadelphia's Ben Simmons, Utah's Donovan Mitchell and the Los Angeles Lakers' Kyle Kuzma. Markkanen is averaging 3.6 points during 7.2 minutes in the fourth quarter. As far as total points scored in the fourth quarter, Markkanen is tied for ninth among rookies.
The Bulls just lost consecutive games by 1 point, but felt good about their effort. After playing at Denver on Thursday, they had to fly home late at night and take on a rested Sacramento squad.
"You can't use that as an excuse. Everybody goes through it," Markkanen said. "But that's definitely one thing I've got to get used to just because it's the first time basically going through it. I haven't gone back-to-back except when it's in the same gym and after the game you get sleep, no travel.
"Professional athletes, I feel like, can't make excuses. I've been focused on my diet, trying to get as much rest as possible, be ready to play the next day."
In Denver, the Bulls took a 1-point lead on Kris Dunn's driving bank with 9.6 seconds left, only to give up a lay in to Nuggets guard Will Barton with 3.2 seconds on the clock.
Against Sacramento, the Bulls let the game get away during that stretch where they missed 3 shots while trailing by 2. The game ended with a Jerian Grant 3-pointer to cut the lead to 1, so the Bulls didn't have a chance to win at the very end.
The Bulls are hoping to get Nikola Mirotic back soon, perhaps by Monday when they host Cleveland. Zach LaVine, recovering from ACL surgery, has been practicing and is expected to be ready to play in 2-3 weeks.
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