Lauri Markkanen was encouraged by the hard points – the additional Finnish spice did not change the familiar recipe

Lauri Markkanen kicked off his eighth NBA season nicely with a 35-point night. Still, it would take a lot more for his team, the Utah Jazz, to succeed.

Even the first hints of the parquet under the Finn’s big shoes were convincing. Markkanen bagged a three-point shot on his first attempt of the fall and raised the victory signs in the air with both hands. Soon after, he dunked a stylish alley-oop, i.e. a pass straight out of the air.

“Everything starts from 0-0”, Markkanen had sworn to believe in the insert of the TV broadcast before the opening throw early on Thursday Finnish time. On the field, he had gotten hold of the microphone and thrown generic season-opening slogans to the home crowd.

However, the Jazz lost 124–126 to the Memphis Grizzlies, whose assistant coach he is Tuomas Iisalo.

In addition to his scoring, Markkanen grabbed nine rebounds, eight of them on the defensive end, and made two baskets. He made four three-pointers in seven attempts and made 13 of 14 free throws. He played by far the most of his team, 34.34.

You can get used to this kind of going this season as well. Markkanen is elite, but that’s not enough.

On Markkas has the most games without making the playoffs among active players in the NBA: 404. That’s not going to change, because the Jazz haven’t gotten stronger. The team management is expected to start investing in acquisitions next season at the earliest.

Next to Markkanen, there are mostly hopes for the future, but not enough promising ones yet.

It was visible in the starting line-up of the new season, which had familiar faces from last season: the backs Keyonte George20, and Collin Sexton25, center Walker Kessler23, wingers Taylor Hendricks20, and Markkanen, 27.

Over the course of the season, the second and last summer’s first-round bookings, the wing forwards, will play the opening role Brice Sensabaugh20, and Cody Williams19.

Jazz has given up its playoff hopes in the middle of the last two seasons – that is, Markkanen in both seasons in Utah – by giving up its more experienced staff in exchange for backups. The general expectation is that the club management will do the same this season and it’s just a question of how quickly.

Among the men in the starting line-up, fullback Sexton and center Kessler may no longer see a long future in Utah.

Another common interpretation is that Markkanen and a qualified coach Will Hardyn under the leadership, the Jazz will hardly become a jumbo after all, even if that would increase the hope of bringing a super talent alongside Markkanen to lead the championship hunt in a few years.

Next summer’s most coveted offer is the winger from Duke University Cooper Flagg17, who dazzled while sparring with superstars at a U.S. Olympic team camp last summer.

Grizzlies against the Jazz, they were badly on the ropes, with a maximum loss of 17 points, but Markkanen personally brought the hosts to level twice in the final quarter. The end was a fierce battle.

The power man of Markkanen and the Grizzlies became potentially decisive Santi Aldaman (27 points) dueling with 1:25 left in the game. The judges watched the video for a long time, but the verdict was that Aldama did not foul Markkas and he did not get his third chance to bring Jazz to level.

Five seconds before the end, Markkanen sealed the Final Readings with a three-point shot.

Yes, there are still profits coming out of these shows – probably just not enough or not enough, depending on the point of view.