Still has the yips and his form is getting worse and worse. Someone said this guy needs a sports psychologist and I tend to agree. He has zero confidence in his scoring right now and looks frustrated as hell. Overthinking everything.
I'm starting to think Markkanen doesn't really know what he should be doing on offense (well, other than make shots). He's "staying out of the way" and spacing the floor as the action revolves around the post area, until he realizes he hasn't gotten a single shot in 15 minutes and decides to put up some ugly shit.
Lauri seemed to fit the offense well earlier in the season, but right now he doesn't.
I think it has something to do with the offensive scheme, which is seemingly more one-dimensional than the first ~20 games or so. Rubio was important to Lauri, he even said in a Finnish interview that they click - and everyone here knows what Rubio brings to the table, especially in terms of playmaking. This team misses him sooo bad.
Still. Lauri should make more shots and abuse the smaller player every now and then, even if it's not his strongest suit. He definitely needs to do some soul searching, see a sports psychologist or do whatever gets him out off that hole.
Cavs' offense, as of lately, has been like a stickman drawing compared to what it was not so long time ago; the ball movement was almost like a Picasso painting, as we were not entirely relying on the Allen-DG 2-man game + 20 year-old rookie constantly pulling rabbits out of the hat.
I think Lauri has sucked but he's still giving a pretty decent effort night in night out, he's not quitting on plays, he's not getting blown by every possession and he alters some shots. He just seems lost in the offense. I hope he bounces back soon, because offense is what this team needs from him. This is by far the most brutal slump of Lauri's career. And this time the team actually has something on the line since they can make the play-offs. His scoring is needed. Come on Lauri show em and yourself!
I think the most I've seen Lauri score in the NBA - aside from catch and shoot - is from the pick'n'pop. The Cavs don't run that play for him at all. Imo the coaching staff could and should try to toss some pick'n'pops for Lauri here and there.