Ryan Arcidiacono deserves chance to play amidst Knicks point guard struggles
In what’s been a lost season for the New York Knicks, a familiar song has been sung when it comes to the point guard position. With the Kemba Walker signing being a bust, fans have for what seems like the 20th consecutive season complained about the lack of talent at the point guard position. Enter Ryan Arcidiacono.
With Tom Thibodeau continuously starting Alec Burks at ‘the one,’ the frustration has become very comprehendible. While it would be refreshing to see Miles McBride get some reps that aren’t in Westchester, I think that it’s time for the Villanova product to get some run time.
The Knicks officially signed Arcidiacono to a 10-day deal on Jan. 6 and while he didn’t get any minutes off the bench, New York continued to give the former Bull more contracts. Eventually, he ended up getting signed for the remainder of the season on Feb.13. To this day, “The Arch of Dimes” has only eight minutes of playing time for the orange and blue.
Tom Thibodeau needs to play New York Knicks guard Ryan Arcidiacono more
Arcidiacono got his most playing time in Chicago back in 2018-2019 when he played just over 24 minutes a game and averaged 6.7 points and 3.3 assists. A big issue with the entire team this season has been ball movement. A lot of the chemistry that was on display last year hasn’t existed in 2022 and it’s clear that the Knicks are in desperate need of a facilitator.
Another stat that stands out is that throughout his five-year career, the 27-year-old only averages 0.6 turnovers per game. With giveaways being demoralizing all season, having a point guard who takes care of the basketball can do wonders for New York’s success on the offensive end of the floor.
As of Mar. 8, the Knicks are 27-38 and have a pretty daunting schedule the rest of the way. Being four games out of a play-in tournament spot, it’s pretty difficult to see this team going on a run and finding their identity after struggling to do so through 65 games.
On Sunday night, the guard played in six minutes of New York’s 116-93 win over the Clippers and scored his first points for the Knicks.
First Knicks bucket for @RyArch15! pic.twitter.com/LJghRmSm9V
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) March 7, 2022
Thibodeau playing him more frequently is a low risk-high reward scenario. Either Arcidiacono becomes highly impressive and instills himself as part of the future or he gets cut loose at the end of the season. There simply just aren’t better options right now so it’s difficult to understand the hesitation.
Just to clarify, I’m not saying Arcidiacono is the savior of New York basketball. However, I’m saying that he might bring a type of play that Knicks fans haven’t seen consistently in quite some time.
It would be intriguing to see how RJ Barrett and Julius Randle would fair with someone who can distribute them the ball rather than needing to create their own shot on every possession.
Arcidiacono was signed to the team for the remainder of the season for a reason, right? I think it’s time that he gets his fair chance.
