2016-17 Jerian Grant Season Averages: 5.9 PPG, 1.9 AST, 1.8 REB, 36.6% 3PT
Like a lot of the young players on the 2016-17 Bulls, Grant, a second year guard out of Notre Dame, showed flashes of potential amid inconsistent minutes and production throughout the season. After coming over to the Bulls from the Knicks last summer along with Robin Lopez as a part of the Derrick Rose deal, Grant played in 59 games for the Bulls, starting 28 of them. He was productive at times, particularly from 3 point range, where he knocked down a respectable 36% of his shots, but showed areas for improvement, most notably in his passing and court vision. That said, he did show a lot of positive signs on the court. Let’s take a look at some of his best performances of the year.
at Portland Trail Blazers, November 15 - One of the bright spots of the Bulls season was their strong start, and a major part of that start was how well the team played on the annual November west coast road trip. The road trip began in Portland, as tough a place to win as any. With Rajon Rondo out with an injury, Grant got called on for his first start as a Bull and got matched up up against star guards Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Grant more than held his own, pouring in a season-high 18 points and grabbing a ridiculous 5 steals, as the Bulls got off to a fast start and never looked back in a blowout 113-88 road win.
Grant Stat Line: 18 points (6-13 FG), 2-5 3PT, 5 steals, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
vs Golden State Warriors, March 2 - This one is a bit different than most of the top performances we’re highlighting for this season rewind. In a huge Bulls victory at home over the juggernaut Warriors, Grant played just 5 minutes, but in a game featuring star power in spades on both sides, he may have had the highlight of the night with his crossover and three pointer on Steph Curry. View the clip at the bottom of this page.
Grant Stat Line: 5 points (2-2 FG), 1 steal, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 nasty crossover in 5 minutes
at Philadelphia 76ers, April 6 - In a game that wound up being a must-win down the stretch, Grant joined a big Jimmy Butler performance to help the Bulls take care of business on the road against a Sixers team that had won in Chicago just a week prior. Grant showed an all around floor game and proved what he could do with big minutes, seeing his second most court time of the year with over 30 minutes played and posting an impressive stat line of 15 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals on 50% shooting from the floor, all in a game the Bulls had to have.
Grant Stat Line: 15 points (5-10 FG), 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals
vs Orlando Magic, April 10 - The Bulls found themselves in a couple of do-or-die situations coming down to the wire, needing to win both of their last two games to qualify for the playoffs. The first of those two games was at home against the Magic, and the Bulls as a team made sure to take care of business. Getting the start with Rondo out with a wrist injury, Grant was one of the players who stepped up and played well at a time the Bulls needed it most, posting his first career double-double with 17 points and 11 assists and a plus/minus of +47 (not a typo).
Grant Stat Line: 17 points (7-12 FG), 2-5 3PT, 11 assists, 2 steals