Chicago Bulls: Time to show Ryan Arcidiacono some love

Chicago Bulls point guard Ryan Arcidiacono is making a case to be the team’s backup point guard.

The Chicago Bulls entered the 2018-19 NBA season with the point guard position pretty much squared away. Kris Dunn proved to be team’s best option at the lead guard spot because of his ability to be effective at both ends of the floor.

Also, the front office felt comfortable with Cameron Payne at the backup spot based on how he played during the second half of last season. Bearing that in mind, everything was pretty much set, right?

Well, not exactly.

Dunn sustained a sprained MCL injury that will keep him on the shelf until sometime in December. Secondly, Payne didn’t exactly shine when he was inserted into the starting lineup.

So the question became which player would step up until Dunn returns to the court? That player in question is none other than Ryan Arcidiacono.

Wait, what?

Surely we can’t be talking about the guy who played on a two-way contract for the Bulls last season and posted averages of 2.0 points, 1.5 assists and 1.0 rebound per contest in 24 appearances. But while Arcidiacono didn’t make a huge splash in 2017-18, it has been a different story for the former Villanova Wildcat in Year 2.

This season, he is averaging 6.8 points, 4.3 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 19 games (including eight starts) on 44.6 percent shooting from the field and an efficient 42.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Obviously, his overall scoring output won’t make anyone forget about Dunn anytime soon, but Arcidiacono has already had a few noteworthy performances this season.

For instance, in Chicago’s 112-110 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Oct. 24, Arcidiacono chipped in with 10 points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field to go along with a pair of assists. Scoring 10 points on just three shot attempts? Not a bad night at the office, to say the least.

A few nights later, in the team’s 97-85 win over the Atlanta Hawks, Arcidiacono had another solid outing. In that contest, he scored 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting while going 3-for-6 from 3-point range. He rounded out this performance with seven assists, two rebounds, two steals and a block for good measure.

While those performances were solid in their own right, Arcidiacono took his game to another level in Chicago’s recent loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. Not only did he score a career-high 22 points, he hit two huge buckets from downtown to bring the Bulls within one points after the Spurs had reeled off 10 straight.

After Zach LaVine missed a contested 3-pointer, Arcidiacono managed to steal the inbounds pass, but his desperation jumper was a bit short from the right baseline, allowing the Spurs to escape with a 108-107 win.

Sure, LaVine scoring 11 of his 28 in the final frame, along with Justin Holiday (17 points) knocking down five of his eight attempts from long range helped keep the Bulls in the game. But when the offense stalled and it appeared the Spurs were about to run away with the game, Arcidiacono hit two clutch buckets and was one jump shot away from helping the Bulls avoid a three-game skid.

All in all, Arcidiacono came into this season buried behind two other players at the point guard spot. In light of these performances, though, he should be the backup point guard when Dunn returns to the lineup.