Lauri Markkanen can restore Jazz fans' faith with EuroBasket feat

Lauri Markkanen is coming off a pretty abysmal season that stemmed from a back injury and playing for a team whose primary interests got in the way of his playing time. Since the EuroBasket started its friendlies, Markkanen has looked like his old self, but for Utah Jazz fans to have faith in him again, he has to prove he can keep up this level of production when the tournament actually begins.

Markkanen has been on a tear during the EuroBasket preseason matchups, and that only continued yesterday when he put up yet another dominant statline, this time against Poland.

It's evident how much Markkanen wants to stand out during the EuroBasket friendly matchups. This latest statline is nothing fans have been surprised by for any fans who have been paying attention.

However, everyone has to remember that these games don't count for anything, and not just because it's not the NBA. These are simply warmup games for players to get their feet before the games begin. Markkanen is establishing his presence, and it would be highly concerning if he wasn't being this dominant during games with absolutely no pressure.

If he keeps it up when the tournament actually starts, that restores faith in Jazz faithful. Markkanen was bad enough last year that many worry about, if the plan is to trade him (which it's not for now), how much value he would fetch back. That's why fans are encouraged by what he's done thus far, but should only buy stock when it really counts for something.

Basically this is the equivalent of NBA preseason. As fun as players can lookin preseason, the stage changes in the regular season. There's no reason we shouldn't treat Eurobasket the same way. Everyone's hoping that Markkanen will show that and he likely will, but he has to prove it first.

The real EuroBasket Tournament will start soon enough

The EuroBasket tournament will start on August 27 and ends on September 14. Even if Finland doesn't advance (note that Markkanen is the only current Finnish player in the NBA), if Markkanen shows out, that's a pretty good indicator of what's to come from him.

If Markkanen continues to a flat-out basketball supernova when the tournament begins, Jazz fans should feel even better about the chances of him returning to normal next season. Some may worry about that interfering with Utah's tanking plans, but take a look at the rest of the roster and have no fear.

In a season where there's not expected to be a lot of wins coming the Jazz's way, Markkanen looking like his normal self again would definitely be a certified victory for the Jazzmen!