Jerian Grant to start in place of injured Rajon Rondo

Rondo is down. We have to move on. We have to.

The Chicago Bulls have received tremendous contributions from Rajon Rondo so far in their series against the Celtics. He is injured now, so so much for that. But where one Rondo falls, another Jerian Grant will spring up in its place. That’s how that phraseology works.

See? I told you.

One thing I’ve learned about basketball is that you only get to have one starting point guard at any given time. This is particularly complex for the Bulls because they have so many options. They have a former Rookie of the Year, a guy with a very Old Testament name, a guy they traded two assets for, and they have Mr. Grant. With so many questions floating around about best choices, it’s natural for someone to feel a little lost about where they fit in the big wide world around them.

Jerian Grant is unnatural. This is to say he’s in good shape. He closed the season strong in April with three straight games of 15+ points, including a game of 17-11. Those are solid numbers.

Unfortunately for Grant, the rest of the season also exists. That part of the season had him average less than six points per game and less than two assists. Which Jerian are we in for? Only time will tell.

Next: Are the Celtics worse than we thought or are the Bulls better?

This, again, calls into question exactly what the heck was going on with the trade for Cameron Payne. He had enough value to be the ostensible return for a solid, long-time starter in Gibson and a person named Doug. Unfortunately now he seems to be somewhere between four and eight on the Chicago Bulls point guard rotation. It’s not unlikely that whoever is playing the best will be the point guard to play the most, but Jerian gets the nod tonight.