Lauri Markkanen Struggles in the World Cup: A Disappointing Experience

The World Cup has been a bad experience for Lauri Markkanen. The power forward, who enlisted in the military service (mandatory in Finland) when he finished the season with the Utah Jazz, reached the championship with a big star sign. For his extraordinary role in the Eurobasket last year and for his status as an NBA all star in a tremendous season in which he averaged more than 25 points and 8 rebounds per game. But the first phase was frustrating for a player (26 years old) who couldn’t find his rhythm within a team that was very far from that fresh Eurobasket surprise. Defeats against Australia and Germany seemed logical. The debacle with Japan? That was something else.

In a difficult group and far from its best version, Finland has been doomed to the purgatory of the fight for places 17-32, a new focus after the Eurobasket quarterfinals. In this new reality, its first rival was Cape Verde (Finland won 77-100), a team happy to be in its first World Cup (the smallest country that qualifies), which already won its match in the first phase but has keeps alert because no Africans qualified for the playoffs among the top 16. So the best on the continent is this other painting that will have a place in the Olympic Games in Paris. Similarly, Finland seeks a place in the Pre-Olympics.

The game had little history: Finland escaped in the first quarter (16-28) and controlled the game with advantages that were almost always around twenty. A much higher pace, more precision and much more outside aim (14/36 in triples against his rival’s 3/19) in a demonstration that his level is intermediate, lower than that of the best in the World Cup but higher than that of many of those who are now in the same wagon. And he has Markkanen, of course, a player for bigger games, bigger dates. The power forward finished with 34 points, 9 rebounds and a PIR of 37. And with a 10/13 in shots from two. The question is not his (obvious) ability to dominate against Cape Verde, it would have to be his weak level (especially shooting from the outside) in too many moments of the first phase.

Opposite, Cape Verde put energy, physique, optimism and basketball that he could with his obvious limitations. Will Tavares took too long to appear this time, and Almeida (17 points) and Correia (15) pushed from the beginning. Edy Tavares played over 31 minutes and finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds, a PIR of 25 and 5/6 shooting. The Real Madrid center suffered from the beginning, with Finland playing very open and with a lot of circulation, avoiding his zone of maximum influence. Based on rebounds and asking for the ball in the area, he entered the game with great effort, had his moments and did, as always, what he could. Cape Verde will now play, on Friday, against Japan.

2023-08-31 10:05:48
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