OFFENSE

*Prototypical stretch 4 with NBA range

*Lethal shooting stroke with a high release point

*Fades back slightly on his shot

*Showing more confidence attacking closeouts

*Has a good feel for where he should be on the court to maintain spacing

*Equally comfortable shooting from stand still spot ups and when moving off the ball

*Struggles on the midrange pull up after closeouts

*Dangerous pick and pop option

*Doesn’t make contact on screens, almost always slips screen and looks for his shot

*Almost never used as a roller to the rim

*Doesn’t run to the rim on the break but out to the corner or he’s the trailer

*Doesn’t establish strong box outs, relies on his length and tips for rebounds but follows his own shot well

*Finds the soft spot in the middle of zones but struggles hitting the jumper from the middle of the defense

*Shows flashes of good vision within the interior

*Keeps the ball moving around the perimeter

*Has the hands and leaping ability to finish lobs

*Sparingly used as a post threat but could be dangerous in the post on the next level posting up the switch or tweener forwards

*Establishes a solid base on his post ups

*Sees the shooters when the defense doubles and as he’s making his move

*Can pass out of the post with both hands

*Shows flashes of being able to face up and turn over both shoulders.

DEFENSE

*Works hard on defense despite athletic limitations

*Does an ok job moving in space vs bigs but he doesn’t have much chance vs guards

*Generally takes up good help defense positioning which helps make up for his lack of lateral quickness

*Slow off the floor and could do a better job keeping his hands up

*Fights hard to stay with his man in off ball action

*Allows opponents to establish deep post position or seal him and walk him up the lane

*Susceptible to quick hitting post moves

*Takes good angles when showing on a PNR and recovering to a roller/shooter

*Can overrotate when the ball is on his side of the floor, leaving shooters

KHAIRI AKILI -

Lauri Markannen can flat out shoot. Every shot looks like it's going in. He has to play a lot of 3 because he's clearly the best shooter on the team but he's a 4. He will try to create some looks for himself but it's best at picking and popping. He tries to rebound but won't out athlete anyone.

He looks like he's going to be food on defense, especially with fast guards. He just doesn't have the lateral quickness you'd want in a 4. He plays well below the rim but a good floater should make him serviceable.

Natural shooter

Nice wrong foot drive

Playing out of position due to personnel

Shows some ability to create for himself

Decent rebounder though he often plays the 3

Mobility issues on defense

Will have defensive issues from day 1

Doesn't keep the ball high when he rebounds

Doesn't really finish well in traffic

JAMES BARLOWE -DECEMBER 29, 2016