79 points + 69% shooting percentage, beat Belgium in two games, do the Warriors regret not having a trade?

The European Cup of Men's Basketball Team is about to begin, and Finnish team's Laurie Markkanen has entered the "God of Killing Mode" ahead of schedule!

In the last two warm-up matches against Belgium, the 28-year-old NBA star went crazy - he made 17 of 24 shots in the first game, 7 of 13 three-pointers, 48 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals, leading the team to beat the opponent 105-62; in the second game, 8 of 12 shots, 4 of 6 three-pointers, and scored 31 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists, helping Finland win easily 92-74. In the two games, Markkanin only played 48 minutes, with a total of 25 of 36 shots, a shooting percentage of up to 69.4%, scoring 79 points, 14 rebounds and 5 steals, and his efficiency is terrifying!

What's even more amazing is that the 48 points in the first game directly broke the Finnish national team's single-game scoring record (the original record was also the 43 points he maintained), and the second victory happened to be the 500th international competition victory in Finland's team's history, which is of great significance. Such a performance made fans sigh: "How is this a warm-up match? It is clearly Markanen's personal show!" The rise of the Finnish men's basketball team in recent years is largely due to Markanen. In the 2022 European Cup, he averaged 27.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, leading the team to return to the quarterfinals after 55 years.

In the game against Croatia, he made 19 of 29 shots, scoring 43 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists, completely defeating his opponent. Now, as one of the hosts of this European Cup, Finland is in the same group as Germany and Lithuania. Although it is difficult to qualify, Markkanen's hot state undoubtedly gives the team hope to reach a higher ranking.

However, Markkanen's performance in the NBA is in sharp contrast to the FIBA arena. Last season, he played in 47 games, averaging 19.0 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game, shooting percentage of 42.3%/34.6%, and his true shooting percentage of 57.1%, far lower than the level of the previous two seasons.

However, this decline is likely to be a victim of the Jazz's reconstruction strategy - the team needs to train new players, and Markanin, who has signed a maximum salary of 238 million yuan for five years, naturally became the target of "tactical decentralization".

In the offseason last year, the Warriors tried to trade for Markanen. The Jazz asked for Kumingga, Moody, Podjemsky and two first-round picks, but the Warriors refused to send out Podjemsky, resulting in a miscarriage of the deal.

Now, seeing Markkanen's dominant performance in the European arena, the Warriors' management may regret it!

With the official start of the European Cup, can Markkanin continue such a crazy performance? If he can continue to play highlights in the main game, the Jazz may reconsider the possibility of trading him - after all, it would be a waste to let a peak All-Star player accompany him to play!