Lauri Markkanen was bright spot in Cavs L to Bulls, is playing well of late

Markkanen was the bright spot for the Cavs in that one, and he was getting it done in a variety of ways

The 7-footer was again the true bright spot in an otherwise forgettable performance for the Cavs; granted, Evan Mobley played very well in the first half, and Darius Garland came on again in the second half en route to a 20-point, 12-assist outing. As a side note, he reportedly suffered a stinger in-game; he came back in, even still.

And Kevin Love did chip in too, circling back, with 13 points and four assists, and the group did have 27 assists in the game, so I can’t say it was all awful offensively.

But some untimely turnovers just seemingly took the wind out of the Cavaliers’ sails as a team in crucial stretches, however, and the defense was a step slow all night. Of course, the team not having Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio still is a constant crutch, and Lamar Stevens being inactive didn’t help.

Nonetheless, as we stressed earlier, Markkanen’s performance was the key positive takeaway from this one, as he had a season-high 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting, and 5-of-9 from three. He was on fire as a catch-and-shoot guy, and this sort of contest shows why the Cavaliers went out and got Markkanen via sign-and-trade this past offseason.

He was also able to get to the free throw line six times, where he hit five of those. When Markkanen is making plays as a finisher in the open floor, and in set offense, using his size to get to easy hooks, or shooting over guys via one-dribble pull-ups, it also can get him going, and usually the team in general.

This could be a game that can potentially propel him onward as well.