Chicago Bulls players reviews: Jerian Grant
We’re continuing our player reviews from this past season by taking a look at Jerian Grant’s first season for the Chicago Bulls.
Jerian Grant was a long shot to be the Chicago Bulls‘ point guard of the future.
The fact that he was buried on the bench in New York with the Knicks gave fans a thin slice of hope that the acquisition would flourish with a fresh opportunity. It didn’t play out that way and the signing of Rajon Rondo left Grant fighting for backup minutes most of the season.
Grant plays with a clumsy speed. The second-year guard often looks out of control and unsure of where he’s going, sometimes finding his way to the correct spot. Grant has a knack for getting to the rim, but his finishing was inconsistent. He shot 59.4 percent from five feet or less on 64 attempts, a decent percentage though not enough shot attempts to really call him a force around the rim.
He has a bad habit, especially in the first half of the season, attempting awkward post-ups in the mid-range area that never really work. He’s at his best when playing downhill getting to the rim and spotting up for open 3-pointers. This is basically the extent of his skill set.
As was the case with several young players, Grant’s playing time was inconsistent. Grant, Rondo and Michael Carter-Williams all saw stints at starting point guard, while the other two took the role of backups. It was a literal revolving door at the point guard position.
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All three guards have obvious flaws, though Grant is the best pure shooter of the three and Chicago was in need of 3-point shooting all season. Grant shot 41.5 percent from deep in the 28 games he started. His net rating as a starter was 1.1, so he did okay when given the starting nod.
He was much worse when he came off the bench, shooting 28.8 percent from deep. When he came off the bench, he tried to do too much leading to poor shooting numbers. Though, pair him with Jimmy Butler and the starters and his role on the court is clearer and he has a better idea of when to pick his spots.
As a bench player, his true shooting percentage was 51 percent. When he started, that shot up eight points to 59 percent. Another sign that when his role was a third or fourth option his output was more productive. When he came off the bench, it was a bunch of headless chickens trying to impress the coach for consistent minutes. That’s not a great environment to carve out a role.
You can’t say his numbers would have held if he had started the majority of the season, though it would have made sense for Hoiberg to start him more than 28 times. More time in the starting five and the more he could sharpen his decision-making playing with Dwyane Wade and Butler.
Grant never had games that made one think this guy has to start, but when he did get to start, he did just above the average. When he came off the bench, he looked like a guy soul-searching with no success.
A consistent role next season will be best for Grant. Fear of being benched had him trying to do too much. If he had a longer leash and a defined job, it’s not inconceivable to see him as a league-average guard.
Next: Bulls player reviews: Joffrey Lauvergne
This past season, he was clearly not that.