All season, the Bulls have been plagued by a much-publicized lack of shooting. At the All-Star break, they’re dead last in the NBA in 3-point makes, attempts and percentage, and there’s no sign that their fortunes from beyond the arc will improve with the current personnel. But they’ve been finding production in the midrange from an unexpected source: starting center Robin Lopez.

Lopez has traditionally been a garbage man on offense, finding most of his points on putback dunks and easy looks around the basket. But he’s been creating much more of his offense this season on jump shots, and the ability to step out and hit an 18- to 22-footer has made him a more effective, versatile offensive weapon.

This season, 25.5 percent of Lopez’s field-goal attempts have come from between 16 feet and the 3-point line, per Basketball Reference, the highest volume of his career by a considerable margin. Last season with the New York Knicks, Lopez took only 4.8 percent of his shot attempts from the midrange; the season before that, with the Portland Trail Blazers, that number was 7.1 percent.

Lopez isn’t just taking more midrange shots this year — he’s making more of them, too. He’s shooting 47 percent from that range, a considerable uptick from his 31.3 percent clip last season and 38.7 percent the year before.

“Obviously playing with different players, that affects how the game is going to be played on the floor,” Lopez told The Athletic on Feb.16, before the Bulls’ 104-103 win over the Boston Celtics. “Where I’m gonna be, what looks I’m gonna get.”

It’s been his way of adapting to the Bulls’ unorthodox roster and making himself useful playing with ball-dominant guards who aren’t much of a threat on the perimeter.

“Jimmy [Butler] and [Dwyane] Wade love slashing and driving, and when help pulls over, they’re looking for people to dump it to,” Lopez said. “I’ve just got to be in a position to be helpful for them.”

Lopez has joked this season that he wants to start shooting 3-pointers like his twin brother Brook, who has discovered a newfound effectiveness from beyond the arc this season with the Brooklyn Nets. So far, that hasn’t manifested itself: he’s taken just one 3-pointer this season, a miss. But he’s made it a point to work on the midrange jumper this season, and it’s paying off.

“Being aware that I’m getting that shot, it’s something I’ve tried to prepare for,” Lopez said.

That dependability and adaptability has been why Lopez was such a successful pickup for Chicago in last June’s Derrick Rose trade. He’s the only player who has both played and started in every game this season, and he’s on a below-market contract for a starting center, making around $14 million per year for two more seasons beyond this one. He’s never been a player with flashy box-score numbers, but he’s a solid offensive rebounder and finisher, and the addition of a reliable midrange shot has given the Bulls an unexpected offensive weapon.