Lauri Markkanen was great in this area for Cavs in 2021-22

Lauri Markkanen‘s play on the surface this season for the Cleveland Cavaliers was maybe a bit underwhelming to some, and he did have his inconsistencies. That was, to some degree at least, on-script with how his first four seasons with the Chicago Bulls went.

Markkanen is a talented offensive player, either way, but, whether it’s been related to injuries, or other variables, he’s been a player that’s been known to have ups and downs.

In his first year with the Cavaliers following his sign-and-trade acquisition from Chicago during this now-past season, Markkanen was, on-brand with what we’ve been hinting at. In fairness to him, he was in a new situation with Cleveland, and he was adjusting to playing his share of time as a de facto 3, when the group was healthy, and playing with two other bigs in Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen.

There was some sacrifice for Markkanen, and it took him some time to get comfortable; on the year, he had 14.8 points per outing and hit 35.8 percent of his three-point attempts. He did have some noteworthy stretches of games prior to the new year, and seemed to hit his stride in January in playing with the other two bigs, and other guys then prior to an extended absence because of a high ankle sprain.

Then, on another positive note, Markkanen finished the season strong following that absence, with 16.7 points per outing post-All-Star break, and connected on 38.1 percent of his three-point attempts then.

Now, some of that has to do with Allen being sidelined for much of that span due to a fractured finger, but even still, it was nice to see Markkanen’s play then, despite the team stumbling post-All-Star, injuries to Allen and others aside. Markkanen prior to his injury appeared to be getting more comfortable before his injury absence, too, I believe.

Something that did stand out to me from Markkanen’s overall play in his first year with the Cavaliers, in general though, was how he was an impact trailer and transition player, and that’s something to build on next season.

Markkanen was great for the Cavs in transition in 2021-22, and look for him to be a prominent target in that regard from here.

As we’ve seen throughout his time over his five-year career, Markkanen’s going to be known for his catch-and-shoot play. In set offense, the majority of his looks are likely going to come from ball-swings, kickouts or at times, movement looks where he lets it fly from deep, and that’s what the Cavaliers need from him in set situations.

I acknowledge that, but as we touched on, Markkanen’s transition feel was something I thought flew under-the-radar a bit in his first season with Cleveland. Coming into the season, I did think that his transition abilities were somewhat underrated, honestly, and I thought there might have been more of a point of emphasis for him to get a pretty solid dose of transition looks, and that did seemingly play out.

Markkanen has done a quality job as a trailing shooter in his NBA career, and in secondary break situations, I thought that he again demonstrated that with the Cavaliers. When he was able to get himself set, he was impactful in that realm I thought, and that’s something that as he gets more comfortable with the team, we could see plenty of next season, I’d imagine.

Also, in legit fastbreak scenarios, Markkanen did a nice job filling lanes as a cutter, just as he did with Chicago when the opportunities presented themselves at times.

And, from my perspective, while I understand there’s not going to be an abundance of driving looks for him, particularly if he’s being guarded by wings, in transition, Markkanen did make some good drives in the open floor, too. In those instances, he typically finished well, and it was encouraging to see him play through contact.

Overall, Markkanen placed in the 88th percentile in transition scoring in 2021-22, per Synergy Sports, on a 18.0 percent frequency.

I can’t necessarily say I’d anticipate a repeat of that frequency again this next season for Lauri, with other perimeter guys involved, however, with him further acclimated with the team, I still would expect him to get his share of transition shots. Running end-to-end at times after he or others get deflections can allow him to get rim touches, too.

Based on his success in transition during his first year with the Cavs, hopefully he can build on that next season, when he’ll have more familiarity with Darius Garland and company.

Now, as an aside, we’ll have to see if the tall-ball lineup can work for significant stretches of games next year, and it’s understandable that the Cavs have been linked to guys such as Jerami Grant and Gordon Hayward as potential trade targets. Markkanen could, in theory, be a player involved in a possible trade package at some point, but generally, I do believe the Cavaliers will give the tall-ball group more time next year, given the success it had.

With that in mind, and with his shooting impact, I’d still believe we could see Markkanen stick around, too, and look for his transition feel to help get him and the team going when he’s out there, as we’ve hit on here.