Chicago Bulls: Kris Dunn’s biggest strength and biggest weakness

Continuing with my analysis of the Chicago Bulls’ core players strengths and weaknesses, next up: Kris Dunn.

Biggest Strength

Despite the offensive leap Kris Dunn took this season, his biggest strength is still his defense – specifically his on-ball defense.

Dunn averaged 2 steals per game this season. That was enough to have him tied with Kawhi Leonard for the fourth most steals per game in the league – right in front of former Chicago Bull, Jimmy Butler.

It’s clear when watching Dunn’s ball pressure that he makes it tough on opposing ball-handlers, even when he doesn’t come away with a steal. A lot of on-ball defense in today’s NBA is relatively soft, but Kris Dunn definitely doesn’t fit that generalization. He’s constantly being a ball-hawking nuisance to the other team.

Check out this play:

And an example of that “I’m not just going to let you bring up the ball” mentality that I was referencing earlier:

The bottom line is Kris Dunn’s defense is already elite. As the Chicago Bulls continue to improve as a team, his defensive play will remain a huge part of whatever success they have.

Biggest Weakness

While he’s still a young guy with a few weaknesses that need to be improved, I’m going to go with his three-point shooting. I know this seems like the obvious one, but it might be the most important.

To be an elite guard in today’s NBA, you have to be a capable shooter at minimum. Nobody’s saying that Kris Dunn needs to be Steph Curry – that’s just ridiculous. But he needs to be a threat in order for his best skills on offense (penetration and creating for others) to reach their maximum potential.

Dunn shot 32 percent on three-point shots this year. This was an improvement from last year, but still not good enough.

Kris Dunn seems like he’s a workhorse with a never-say-die mentality so I’m guessing he puts up a lot of shots this summer and spends a lot of time working on his mechanics. I’m betting on Kris Dunn to improve, but it definitely needs to happen if he wants to be elite.

Bonus Analysis: Biggest Improvement

I know what you guys are thinking… Another bonus analysis! Things are getting crazy here.

Anyway, Kris Dunn’s biggest improvement, and at the same time, kind of his biggest surprise this season was how awesome he was at turning his defense into offense.

When you have the elite defensive skill-set that Kris Dunn has, it needs to turn into offensive production at the other end. If it doesn’t, then what’s the point?

Watch his defensive highlights against the Pistons and notice the times he turns his defense into points for the Bulls. These moments are spectacular.

Next: Is there a chance that Butler plays for the Bulls again?

After coming over in the Jimmy Butler trade this summer, Kris Dunn has really looked good for a second-year point guard put in a tough spot. It looks like the whole organization has trust in him going forward as the point guard of the future – and so do I, for that matter.