Chicago Bulls: Kris Dunn is taking way too many three-point attempts

Once he returns from injury, Chicago Bulls point guard Kris Dunn needs to be taking a lot less attempts from three-point land.

One of the most absolutely confounding numbers the Chicago Bulls stat line has on it so far this season is the three-point attempt rate of the 6-foot-4 fourth-year point guard Kris Dunn. In a year where Dunn has by far the lowest three-point shooting percentage of his career, he’s also got a career-high in three-point attempt rate.

So far this season, Dunn is shooting a career-low 25.9 percent from beyond the arc. But his three-point attempt rate is sitting at a career-high 32.7 percent.

Think about how much better Dunn’s true shooting percentage could be if head coach Jim Boylen didn’t have him taking so many three-point attempts. He has a career-best true shooting percentage of 51 percent so far this season. When he had a career-low in three-point attempt rate of 19 percent last season, he also had his worst true shooting percentage of his three years in a Bulls uniform (48.4 percent).

The three-point attempt rate for the rest of the Bulls players this season has mostly a usual distribution. But small forward Chandler Hutchison, combo guard Tomas Satoransky, and power forward Lauri Markkanen need a higher three-point attempt rate when healthy.

Markkanen, Hutch, and Sato are all players for the Bulls that can hit their three-point looks at a rate of at least 35-38 percent, depending on the night. Dunn is hitting closer to one-quarter of his looks from beyond the arc this season. And his shooting from 16-feet from the rim and beyond is even worst. He’s hitting just 23 percent of his looks from at least 16-feet beyond the rim.

Dunn and rookie point guard Coby White are both shooting very poor from that distance from the basket. White is also hitting on less than 25 percent of his looks from at least 16-feet beyond the rim.

If anything, let Dunn get open looks from the corners where he’s shooting around 28 percent. That’s better than his roughly 24 percent from the other areas from beyond the arc.

There’s an easy fix to this problem. Boylen and the Bulls need to let Dunn drive the rim more often and let his court vision take over. When the Bulls are running fast and effectively in transition, then a stout defensive and athletic point guard like Dunn can maximize his skill set. Dunn has an assist-to-turnover ratio better than 2.5-1 this season. Trust his vision on offense.

Dunn is getting to the free-throw line fairly often too. His free-throw attempt rate is higher than 15 percent and he’s shooting around two percent better than his career average from the charity stripe. Let him thrive at the line.

So far this season, Dunn is money from inside the arc. He’s getting around 60 percent of his shoots from within 10-feet of the rim and he’s shooting better than 50 percent from that range. He’s also getting more and more efficient at getting to the free-throw line and hitting his looks this season.

The fix is pretty simple for the Bulls to maximize the limited but refined offensive skill set of Dunn. He’s athletic and strong enough to get to the free-throw line and runs well in transition when the Bulls are in rhythm. More of his field goals than ever are assisted this season too (more than 96 percent). Let him thrive off his improved supporting cast and two-point shooting ability, and the Bulls will have a more potent offense once Dunn returns from this lingering knee injury.