Wayne Selden continues to make a case to be a Bull in 2020
Selden was a part of the the trade that sent Justin Holiday to the Memphis Grizzlies, and while the trade was certainly made to get some draft capital, the front office has to be pleased with Selden’s play down the stretch. Overall he has done enough to be a part of the Bulls supporting cast in the 2019-20 season.
On Tuesday night against the Raptors, Selden scored 13 PTS in the first half on 5/10 shooting and was the driving force behind the Bulls offense as Lauri Markkanen struggled mightily.
He finished the game with agame-high 20 PTS ob 8/15 shooting from the field. Selden has been an awesome scorer from midrange this season and is taking that shot more than any point in his career. Per Cleaning the Glass, he is in the 84th percentile among all NBA forwards as a midrange shooter (46 percent).
Selden has shot a hair under 34 percent as a Bulls, and the shooting should be expected to see an uptick should he return to Chicago, as he is a career 35 percent 3PT shooter. Selden does not get to the free throw line much, but his scoring ability in the midrange makes him a legit pick-and-roll ball handler for Jim Boylen.
For the Bulls to take a step forward next season, they need to surround Markkanen and LaVine with players who can make the 3PT shot at a respectable rate, run the pick-and-roll and defend NBA wings. Selden checks off all three boxes and is unlikely to command a crazy amount on the open market, making him a solid candidate to return.
“Arc” Madness
NBA
Ryan Arcidiacono pulled out a solid performance on his birthday. Arcidiacono turned 26 years old on Tuesday night and racked up 13 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST and 2 STLS while starting for the injured Kris Dunn.
Arcidiacono has been great in the pick-and-roll all season, a testament to his high basketball IQ and shooting ability. He is shooting around 37 percent from the 3PT line on the year and the Bulls offense has looked similar if not better when “Arc” is running the show.
He understands not picking up your dribble to early in order to create better passing angles for the roll man in pick-and-roll situations. Arcidiacono’s carefulness with the ball--elite 4.21 assist-to-turnover ratio--has resulted in some nice finishes for little used players like Cristiano Felicio.
Boylen loves Arcidiacono’s game because of his grit and tenacity, and that shines through in moments like Tuesday night when he was the third-leading rebounder (6 REB) for the short-handed Bulls.
He only finished with two assists in about 30 minutes of action but played more off-ball while Shaq Harrison handled a lot of the ball handling duties. And that versaitility is yet another thing that Arcidiacono has used this season to prove that he is a legitimate NBA guard.
His creativeness as a passer, shooting and overall effort level make him a fan favorite and depending on what the Bulls do over the offseason, he could be a bigger part of next year’s team.
Lauri Markkanen struggles continue
Lauri Markkanen had yet another clunker of a game, shooting 2/10 from the field in just over 16 minutes of playing time. Markkanen is shooting 40 percent from the field in March, his worst overall shooting month so far this season.
Whether or not it is general fatigue or old injury woes flaring up, something doesn’t seem quite right with Markkanen. It will be interesting to see if the Bulls shut him down with only seven games remaining in the season. He has does not have a ton left to prove this year, as he has clearly improved from his rookie season, especially when it comes to crashing the glass consistently (9.0 RPG in ‘18-’19).
Through 52 games Markkanen averaged 18.7 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.4 APG and shot 36.1 percent from the 3PT line. He showed tremendous strides as a ball handler and passer even if the numbers don’t exactly reflect it. Tuesday night was a disappointing one for “The Finnisher”, but if it does end up being the last game of the season for him, it doesn’t take away from what was a great sophomore season from the 21-year old Markkanen.