Sometimes here at Bulls Confidential, we like to be no nonsense, kinda like the current Bulls head coach, Jim Boylen (pictured here). So here it is…..

This a new, recurring series on Bulls Confidential, “Michael’s Musings (obligatory hat tip to Mr. Mayberry). They’re mostly my thoughts right after watching a game with random stuff throughout. Like little nuggets, well, not nuggets per se…..easter eggs? Links? Anyway….

Lauri Markkannen has one key trait in that ALL superstars possess…..

Which is the ability to shrug off a bad game.

And it is debatable if his six field goal-attempt even qualifies as a bad game for him — meaning his individual performance. In that woeful loss to the Nets, Markkanen had 6 rebounds, 2 assists, no turnovers and shot 50 percent from the field, albeit on 6 shots. He was a -1 on the floor in that game and didn’t exactly hurt the Bulls, though obviously he could’ve helped more. But alas it’s a team sport — SPAWT! — and his teammates did a poor job of getting him the ball — though they do say they want to pass more — so chalk it up to poor gameplanning (looking at you Boylen, pictured again here).

But in that game against the Nets, Markkanen was still efficient. And on Friday night he showed what happens when his shot is on and his teammates are constantly working to get him the ball.

32 PTS (4–6 3PT), 6 REB, 3 AST, 2 TO and 1 BLK in 36 minutes….oh, and also…

The Bulls forgive, but they never forget:

James Spader once said “If you find great difficulty in trying to reckon with the future or even the present, I think it’s intuitive to start that process by reckoning with the past.”

The Finnisher is nooooot superstitious

Time for a quick Stacey King “Poster machine” break:

I’m still standing on Kris Dunn mountain

I’ve had quite too many “dUnN iS ThE NExt JOhN waLL”-takes in my heyday, but I have settled on the idea that Dunn’s development is likely to settle somewhere between ‘OK starting point guard’ and ‘perennial 1st Team All-Defense’. For him to achieve his ceiling — if he never becomes a solid 3PT shooter — all he needs to do is be more mindful of his hands when defending.

Dunn can get slept on by the national media all day, but Bulls fans who watch EVERY game know what they see. And that’s a guard who can do all the little things on the floor to compensate for his lack of a 3-point shot.

Dunn has been an elite defensive rebounder for the point guard position and is currently in the 93rd percentile in rebound rate per Cleaning The Glass. In layman’s terms, there are not a lot of PGs around the league defensive rebounding like Kris Dunn. He can become a very, very good player in the NBA for a loooooooong time….and if you still aren’t sold, it’s time for a….

Cleaning The Glass deep dive

Dunn is not getting to the rim enough — likely a result of always playing with at least one moderately high usage big — but when he does get to the rim he is shooting 62 percent, which ranks in the 75th percentile for combo guards (as defined by Ben Falk).

Dunn is shooting 50 percent (!!) on shots where he is fouled (AND-ONE!).

Dunn is shooting a career-high from the free throw line but has a career-low 2.8 percent free throw attempt rate

NBA players usually figure out who they are by year 3 or 4 and in year 3 for Dunn, he is showing signs of understanding his limitations……

He is taking 17 percent of his shots from 3-point range, the lowest of his career

But he is absolutely on fire inside the 3-point line, taking 60 percent of his shot from the midrange and converting them at a 53 percent clip.

The highest midrange field goal percentage of Chris Paul’s career was 51 percent.

That’s ends the Cleaning The Glass deep dive, ALWAYS brought to you by Ben Falk.

That’s ends the Cleaning The Glass deep dive, ALWAYS brought to you by Ben Falk.

Lauri Markkanen showed a very important counter for how teams guard him

Night-in, night-out Bulls’ opponents are locked in on Markkanen pick-and-pop plays. They know he is one of Chicago’s best 3-point threats. So predictably, Orlando start switching Markkanen pick-and-pops when appropriate. But when the defender’s focus is locked on the ball and not Markkanen, a well-timed cut will create this:

But Markkanen can still knock down the tough shots too…..

Rolo continues to run the 3-point celebration game while Stacey King & Neil Funk run the broadcasting game

There must be A LOT of NBA referees who went to North Carolina…..

#FreeHutch

AAAAAHHHHHH!!! LAURI LEGEND CAN YOU TAKE ME HIGHEEEER?!

Two more times because why not?

Is it the shoes?

Lauri Markkanen is a good sport and in the words of Stacey King, he is just so “Refreshing to be around.”

And to close tonight’s musings….