Arcidiacono states his case in Chicago Bulls' improved offense
During the Chicago Bulls' victory over Boston on Saturday, coach Jim Boylen seemed to acknowledge what had become obvious in recent weeks.
Ryan Arcidiacono is a better fit with the current starting five than Kris Dunn. Arcidiacono played more minutes than Dunn against the Celtics, including the entire fourth quarter.
This isn't necessarily a knock on Dunn. The Bulls have found success with a free-flowing, multi-alpha offense that includes multiple ballhandlers and opens the floor for Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen and Otto Porter Jr.
Going back to Dunn's college years at Providence, he excelled as an attacking point guard. He was the main scorer on his team and thrived with an aggressive style on both ends.
The Bulls have seen this version of Dunn. He was the catalyst of last year's 14-7 surge and reappeared during a victory at San Antonio on Dec. 15, arguably the Bulls' best win this season.
But sitting between LaVine, Markkanen and Porter in the suddenly confident Bulls offense, Dunn doesn't get to utilize his best talents. Teams don't bother to guard him at the 3-point line, which can be a problem.
One solution would be to flip the point guards and let Dunn use his attack-dog style to be the lead scorer in the second group. This plan got a little bit of a trial run Saturday. Usually, Boylen sends Porter into the game for a few minutes with the second unit.
Porter didn't play in Saturday's second half due to a lower-leg injury. So Dunn took on that role in the second half and it didn't work out. But Dunn has lost rhythm with his favorite move, a drive into the lane, followed by a quick step back or turnaround jumper.
Arcidiacono is a typical NBA reserve. He will have a few games when he plays like a star, then go quiet for weeks at a time. That's life in the NBA. Consistency separates the lifers from the G-Leaguers.
Saturday was one of those nights when Arcidiacono had it going. He hit a couple of 3-pointers and was his usual hyperactive self, diving on the floor and taking charges.
"It's like my football roots," Arcidiacono said after the game. "I didn't play in high school, but growing up and my dad played football in college, so I'm used to contact, I enjoy it."
Maybe the Bulls could have used Dunn or Shaq Harrison to guard Boston's Kyrie Irving, who piled up 37 points and 10 assists. But Boylen chose to stick with an offensive lineup down the stretch, using Arcidiacono and Wayne Selden Jr. instead of Dunn or Harrison. The Bulls won, so it worked out.
There were at least three times during the Boston game when Dunn was at the scorer's table ready to check in and was called back to the bench by Boylen. A couple of those times happened late in the game when the Bulls didn't get the right whistle to make an offense-defense substitution. Another time, it appeared Boylen decided to keep riding Arcidiacono.
"I feel like I had a good rhythm and flow," Arcidiacono said. "For me, that just gives me more confidence to go out there and play my game and do what I do and not (be) worried about the offensive end, take what the defense gives me and try to bring energy off the bench."
After the game, Boylen insisted he's not worried about Dunn.
"Kris is all for the team, man," he said. "Kris gets it. Some nights it will be his night."
It was interesting how the Bulls continued to thrive on offense on a night when Porter went scoreless and didn't play in the second half. The offensive improvement began with Markkanen finding his confidence in late January. In his last 12 games, Markkanen has averaged 23.2 points and 12.9 rebounds.
LaVine seemed to enjoy more room to operate once Porter arrived and kept that confidence Saturday. In the six games since the trade, LaVine is averaging 26.3 points, 5.8 assists and shooting 54.7 percent from the field.
In a span of three games, LaVine (42 points), Porter (37) and Markkanen (35) have all recorded career highs. So it will be interesting to see if this can continue, beginning Monday with a visit from Milwaukee, the NBA's best team.
After Saturday's win, Markkanen talked about the journey from the 56-point loss to Boston in December.
"We never doubted ourselves. We knew we were going to have rough times and we tried to fight through it and we came together," he said. "We're playing unselfish basketball. We have a good group of guys that are smart basketball players that know who to go to."
The Bulls did not release an official update on Porter's injury status Sunday.
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Bulls game day
Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks, 7 p.m. at the United Center
TV: NBCSCH
Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Outlook: The East-leading Bucks (45-14) have won 10 of their last 11 and have a chance to complete the four-game season sweep against the Bulls. … Milwaukee was just at the United Center two weeks ago and won 112-99 behind 29 points and 17 rebounds from MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak is averaging 27.2 points and 12.7 boards on the season, followed by SG Khris Middleton at 17.3 ppg, SG Malcolm Brogdon with 15.7 and PG Eric Bledsoe at 15.6. … Ex-Bulls PF Nikola Mirotic has played two games for the Bucks, averaging 12.5 points. … The Bulls had one close game against Milwaukee on Nov. 28 at Fiserv Forum, when the Bucks won 116-113 on a Middleton 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds left.
Next: Memphis Grizzlies, 7 p.m. Wednesday at FedEx Forum
- Mike McGraw