Finland thrive as Lauri Markkanen shifts to defensive role

Finland dialled down Lauri Markkanen’s offensive role as they delivered a defensively stout display to see off Montenegro. The Utah Jazz man wasn’t the only person on the minds of those in Tampere for EuroBasket 2025. Emmet Ryan writes that Miikka Muurinen has already gained exalted status amongst the Susijengi.

On the face of things, it was an odd decision. Lassi Tuovi wanted Lauri Markkanen to lighten his scoring load. Given the Utah Jazz man has been making buckets at an historic rate all summer, it was a big change for Finland. The result however was immediate.

With Markkanen playing a more defence-first role, Finland were in total control throughout their win over Montenegro. Still, the Susijengi fans in Tampere weren’t only there to see Markkanen. Miikka Muurinen has already won the hearts of the Finnish public.

Miikka Muurinen didn’t feature much for Finland against Montenegro at EuroBasket 2025 but he’s already developed a big following amonst Susijengi fans.

The fans had to wait

Lassi Tuovi hasn’t exactly rushed Miikka Muurinen onto the floor through the early stages of EuroBasket 2025. It makes sense on multiple levels. At 18, he’s the youngest player in the whole tournament. On top of this, Muurinen wasn’t available for most of Finland’s prep games.

Still, you could sense the fans wanted to see him from the off here. While the Susijengi love Lauri Markkanen and Sasu Salin, they know they’ve got a special one in Muurinen. We saw a little bit of nervous energy from him early. Having drawn a three point shooting foul, Muurinen missed the first two. When the third went in, the crowd roared.

The man they had come to see was visible on the next possession. With youthful exuberance he drove through the Montenegro D to dunk. He quickly took a seat after that and never returned to the floor. Tuovi doesn’t want to lean too much on Muurinen too soon, no matter what the fans want to see.

Air Lauri has your attention

Miikka Muurinen has openly said that Lauri Markkanen and Sasu Salin are teaching him plenty about the sport. The youngster had a perfect view as Markkanen finally gave Finland some form of control in the second quarter.

A dunk to rouse the crowd. Then he raced down the other end to get a defensive board before going back to score a lay-up. Finland led by 7 and the Susijengi fans had real cause for confidence. The less than stellar defensive displays to open EuroBasket 2025 had understandably made Finland’s fans nervous. Against Montenegro, there was some actual order in their own half-court.

Credit should go to Lassi Tuovi for changing up the approach. While it reduced the explosiveness of Finland’s offensive game somewhat, the great discipline on D made for a more well-rounded performance. It could still do with some work but was vastly improved from the opening two games.

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Markkanen stepping back and stepping up

The key element of Finland’s improved defensive performance was the increased focus on Lauri Markkanen. He had a few explosive steals through the first two games but the D hadn’t been structured around him.

Now, with the Utah Jazz man working as the centrepiece on the defensive end, the rest of the structure came together so much better. Mikael Jantunen’s movement was visibly better than the prior days while Sasus Salin and Andre Gustavson were in better position to close down opponents.

It, of course, meant that the fans saw a lot less of Miikka Muurinen than expected. Indeed, I basically called for him to be deployed more on D a day ago. While that may yet happen, there’s no question that this adjustment worked wonderfully for Finland. The goal isn’t just to advance in EuroBasket 2025, it’s to go deep. They need a style of D that will at least give them a chance at that.

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Miikka Muurinen has spoken openly about how he has learned a lot from Lauri Markkanen and Sasu Salin at EuroBasket 2025.

About that

Tonight’s victory for Lassi Tuovi’s side moved Finland to 3-0 in group play. The good news, they are guaranteed to progress at EuroBasket 2025. The bad news, it only gets tougher from here. Monday night against Lithuania is going to need a defensive performance of at least this level.

That’s going to ask a lot of questions about the dialled down focus on Lauri Markkanen offensively. It’s also a must-win game in reality. Victory over Lithuania, and Finland can finish no lower than second in the group. That sets up a favourable game in the round of 16, giving them a shot at matching 2022’s run to the quarter finals.

Defeat and it’s likely either Turkey or Serbia waiting. Now maybe if Miikka Muurinen was 4 years more developed and Lauri Markkanen goes superman mode they can edge one of them. Right now, that just doesn’t look likely. Getting to 3-0 is great, getting to 4-0 feels necessary.

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