Pippen Ain't Easy
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Chicago Bulls Pick-and-Roll Cogs: Robin Lopez and Jerian Grant

By Michael RENE KANOY

Mar 26, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Mo Williams (52) in action against New York Knicks point guard Jerian Grant (13) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 26, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Mo Williams (52) in action against New York Knicks point guard Jerian Grant (13) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Chicago Bulls have a different backcourt now. Jerian Grant may be the starting point guard in tandem with Spencer Dinwiddie unless GarPax move more players out. Robin Lopez finally fills a hole in the roster and both him and Grant may be a formidable pick-and-roll combo along with the Bulls shooters.

Let’s move on after losing Derrick Rose and look at the pick-and-roll potential of Jerian Grant running the point with Robin Lopez, Cristiano Felicio, Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic as the bigs.

Originally targeted by the Bulls last year as their point guard pick in the draft, Grant was selected 19th overall in the 2015 draft by Atlanta (via Washington) and was subsequently traded to the Knicks, leaving the Bulls with Bobby Portis three picks later.

Now, the Chicago Bulls have both.

His pre-draft DraftExpress highlight reel shows us what he can do as a lead playmaker on any team. Grant has great vision on the move and did an excellent job of distributing the ball during his stint at Notre Dame.

He was on ice in New York as the third guard off the bench at the start of the season because of the triangle offense and slightly blossomed during the second half of the season.

During a stretch in April when interim coach Kurt Rambis played him 30 minutes a game, he scored 14.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting 49.3 percent.

In the above video with the Knicks against the Celtics, Grant shows he can defend quick ball-handlers like Isiah Thomas and sees the floor well enough to throw ahead to the bigs running the floor; something that can compensate for the loss of Justin Holiday.

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If Grant can become a lockdown guard defender against All-Stars like Kyle Lowry and Kyrie Irving in the East, the Bulls are competitive again in their division even without Derrick Rose’s explosive offense.

Grant can find seams in a half-court defense and create opportunities for his teammates to score, which should double his assists as a Bull with creative scorers like Mirotic, McDermott, Portis and Jimmy Butler.

Grant can also attack the hoop with his guard smarts. He knows just when to use a floater or when to use dribble and footwork tricks to get an easy basket. His pass-first game bodes well for a team that desperately needs someone to feed their shooters when they are open.

The sad thing about the Bulls last year was despite being third in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage last season, they were 24th in three-point attempts. The Bulls should now count for more long-range shootouts with Grant and Spencer Dinwiddie, both pass-first guards manning the backcourt.

In college, Grant was a methodical dribbler who would use feints and behind-the-back dribbles to change direction and eurosteps to for counter intuitive motion towards the hoop, making even the most athletic defenders commit too soon or get spun around.

(Check out his highlights against 2016 lottery prospect Kris Dunn on DraftExpress.)

“Jerian is a pick-and-roll, pick-and-pop guy. Once he gets it, he can go,” Harvey Grant said to the Chicago Tribune in an interview. Harvey is the father of Jerian and the brother of former Bulls great Horace Grant.

Enter Robin Lopez, the Knicks’ invaluable starting center.

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According to the Daily Knicks’ Maxwell Ogden and his mid-season review of Lopez, he was one of the huge factors why the Knicks were the best defenders of the rim, holding opponents to 47.3 percent shooting at the rim as a team by March.

By himself, Lopez was choking opponents to 46.7 percent at the rim as a defensive wall or shotblocker. Although his block stats may seem low, the new Bulls center was changing shots.

You see GarPax doing their homework right there and then. The Bulls gave up 28.8 lay-ups last year with Pau Gasol in the paint.  Stealing the Knickerbockers’ defensive anchor at center should have a cascade effect for Bulls Hoiball run-outs and allow McDermott and Mirotic to funnel their defensive assignments into Lopez.

Ogden also makes the astute observation that Lopez in spite of low stats, the center has been intangible in allowing Kristaps Prozingis to get his numbers down low by being the one to box out, so Porzingis could haul a rebound or score in the paint.

This kind of team-oriented game may allow Portis and Felicio to develop nicely in attacking the paint.

If Joakim Noah walks, Robin Lopez becomes the glue guy for the Bulls bigs.

Lopez has good touch on his mid-range shot and is strong inside the paint using a jump hook. His game is still peaking and he may even be asked to score big for the Bulls in the context of Hoiball.

Next: 5 fun moments during Derrick Rose's career with the Bulls

It will be exciting to watch Jerian Grant as the new face for the Bulls’ pick-and-roll offense–working off Lopez, Felicio, and a diving Nikola Mirotic to give opponents nightmare mismatches.

If Jimmy Butler stays on board as well, he may play a different role in the Bulls’ offense and give the Bulls much better options than walking the ball up and playing isolation basketball.

Let’s see who the Bulls pick up next in the draft and in the veteran free agent market.

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