- Lauri Markkanen has moved up to second in the latest Most Improved Player odds boards.
- Markkanen is averaging 31 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in his last 10 games.
- The 25-year-old Finnish star scored a career-high 49 points against the Houston Rockets three games ago.
Lauri Markkanen’s breakout season is going full steam ahead.
Markkanen is making a push to make the West All-Star team as his NBA home city prepares to host the 2023 NBA All-Star game. His team, the Utah Jazz, are making a push to make the playoffs and are just two game off the current pace in the Western Conference. But that’s not all.</p.
With Markkanen having his best season ever and his team finding success in a campaign they were supposed to fail, he is also making a push in the latest Most Improved Player of the Year odds boards.
Career-High Against the Rockets
Lauri Markkanen went OFF in the Jazz W:
49 PTS (career-high)
8 REB
6 ThreesThe eighth 40+ point game of January so far 🤯 pic.twitter.com/jOgre6DgIl
— NBA (@NBA) January 6, 2023
Markkanen never lived up to the expectations in Chicago where he played for four years until he was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. But after another trade, this time to the Utah Jazz, Markkanen has not only found his groove but also perhaps his NBA home. The change in scenery and a new system under head coach Will Hardy.
Entering Sunday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Markkanen has averaged 34 points per game in his last 7 games played, and had just set his career high with 49 points against the Houston Rockets three games ago. In that game, he also grabbed 8 rebounds while shooting 15-27 from the field and 13-13 from the foul line, numbers which only Karl Malone and Donovan Mitchell have produced in a Jazz uniform.
The Jazz lost to the Grizzlies 118-123 in their last game on Sunday and Markkanen ‘only’ had 21 points in that game. However, it cannot be denied that the Finnish forward is playing at another level as of late. Over his past 10 games played, Markkanen has averaged 31 points and 8.3 rebounds per game while shooting 54% from the floor and 41.5% from behind the three-point arc.
The Jazz have been struggling as of late, winning just three times in their last 10 games played. However, at 20-23 SU on the season, Utah is still 12th in the latest Western Conference team standings and is just two games off the 6th seed and one off a spot in the play-in tournament. Regardless of their current record, the Jazz are still playoff contenders in a season where they were supposed to fail miserably.
Utah traded cornerstones Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert during the offseason, breaking up a perennial playoff team. Markkannen came to Salt Lake City in the deal that brought Mitchell to the Cav. And just as Spida is thriving in The Land, the Finnisher is having a career year in Utah.
Markkanen Moves Up in MIP Race
The last time we checked the Most Improved Player race was after Christmas Day when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was listed at -185 odds with Tyrese Haliburton chasing him at +330 odds and Markkanen as the third favorite with his +1000 odds. Those odds have changed.
As of the latest odds board at Bovada, Gilgeous-Alexander is down to -110 odds while Markkanen has climbed to second in the ladder at +210 odds, and Haliburton dropping to third favorite at +450 odds. Meanwhile, Anfernee Simons and Desmond Bane complete the Top 5 at +5500 and +9000, respectively.
The NBA’s Most Improved Player race began with Anthony Edwards as the 10/1 favorite before Tyrese Maxey overtook him two weeks into the season as the 9/1 favorite. At the start of November, it was Haliburton who emerged as the +475 favorite however, since mid-November, it has been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who has paced the Most Improved Player race at the top NBA sportsbooks.
SGA has gone from +2000 on November 1st to as shot as -175 odds during the last week of December. However, with Markkanen upping the ante in his last 10 games played, the gap between the top two betting favorites is at its closest since Gilgeous-Alexander took over as favorite.
As we said before, the 2022-23 NBA season has yet to hit the All-Star break. However, as early as now, the Most Improved Player race, at least in the top NBA sportsbooks, is down to three contenders. A lot can still change with plenty of games left to play in the regular season but right now, it’s a three-man race between Gilgeous-Alexander, Markkanen, and Haliburton.
