The Chicago Bulls are just trying to figure things out. A rash of injuries to key rotation players have tabled any optimism of being a dark horse playoff team this season. For now, head coach Fred Hoiberg’s team is looking toward the future, experimenting with lineups to see which ones will work best when the team is back at full strength.

One major discovery during the Bulls’ 4-11 start is that second-year player Ryan Arcidiacono is currently their best active point guard.

Kris Dunn‘s MCL sprain has necessitated a “next man up” approach at the point guard position. Cameron Payne and Arcidiacono have been tabbed as the new point guard battery during Dunn’s recovery.

Arcidiacono has taken this time to emerge as the superior player. On the year, he is averaging 7.2 points, 4.4 assists, and 2.5 rebounds per game. “Arch” is also shooting 51.5 percent from the field and an impressive 48.9 percent from 3-point range. Those numbers add up to a team-best 68.9 true shooting percentage, eighth-best in the NBA among leaderboard-qualifying players.

According to NBA.com, Arcidiacono also sports a 104.8 offensive rating (4th-best on team) and a 104.3 defensive rating (3rd-best). That evens out to a 0.5 net rating, tops on the team. Lastly, his 5.64 assist-to-turnover ratio is third-best in the entire NBA among leaderboard-qualifying players. He only trails the Denver Nuggets‘ Monte Morris.

Arcidacono accumulated most of these numbers coming off the bench, serving as Cameron Payne’s backup in the 11 of the Bulls’ first 12 games. He finally made his starting debut on Nov. 10 in Chicago’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Arcidiacono finished the night with a career-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 shooting from 3-point range. He also notched four rebounds and two assists in the victory.

The amazing thing is that his production hasn’t taken a hit in the bigger role. In his three games since becoming a starter, Arcidiacono is averaging 10.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 0.7 turnovers per. He’s also shooting 54.5 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from outside.

His offensive rating has slightly dipped to 103.0 over that span. However, that is still the team high on a squad that hasn’t scored 100 points in five of their last six games. On the other hand, his 99.5 defensive rating is a massive improvement and the fourth-best on the team. Those numbers equal a team-best 3.5 net rating over the last three games.

The crazy thing is that Arcidiacono produces these numbers without taking up a lot of possessions. He holds a 9.8 percent usage rate on the season and 11.4 percent in last three games. Both numbers are team-lows.

When comparing these numbers with previous starter Cameron Payne, it’s not hard to how Arcidiacono supplanted him in the position. On the year, BBall Index indicates that Arcidiacono currently has a 0.0 Player Impact Plus-Minus (PIPM), made up of a 0.4 Offensive PIPM and cancelled out by a -0.4 Defensive PIPM. Meanwhile, Payne has a -2.4 PIPM.

To expand on the comparison, Payne is averaging 8.2 points, 3.2 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game in 2018-19. He has shot just 40.0 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from 3-point range. His 2.05 assist-to-turnover ratio is third-best on the team, but pales in comparison to what Arcidiacono has accomplished.

Payne also has the second-worst net rating on the team at -14.4, only beating out Shaquille Harrison. His 98.6 offensive rating is fourth-worst among full-time Bulls. His 112.9 defensive rating is third-worst on the team.

However, even with Arcidiacono’s ascendence to starter status, Kris Dunn is still the better point guard. He will absolutely be back at the top spot upon his return from injury. Arcidiacono is doing great things for the Bulls to start the year. However, Dunn still holds a number of advantages over him.

Basically, Kris Dunn is bigger, more athletic, a more dynamic scorer, and a better defender than Ryan Arcidiacono. Dunn is also the better playmaker, despite being more turnover prone. He averaged 14.0 potential assists per 36 minutes in 2017-18, while Arcidiacono is averaging 8.5 per 36 so far this year.

The emergence of Ryan Arcidiacono has been one of the better developments out of Chicago early this season. His abilities as a knockdown shooter and precision floor general is the exactly what this team needs. Once the team is fully healthy, those skills will provide a huge spark off the bench. The Chicago Bulls are still a team searching for answers. However, they should find comfort in knowing they may have found their backup point guard of the future.

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Tribune