Isaiah Canaan To Start At Point Guard For Bulls In Game 5

(CBS) An afterthought for the Bulls less than a week ago, Isaiah Canaan will now play a large, pivotal role for the Bulls in their most important game of the season to date.

Canaan will start at point guard for Chicago in Game 5 at Boston on Wednesday night with the first-round series tied 2-2, coach Fred Hoiberg said Monday. This news came a day after Canaan unexpectedly played 34 minutes for the Bulls off the bench in a Game 4 loss with young point guards Jerian Grant and Michael Carter-Williams continuing to be ineffective in the absence of the injured Rajon Rondo. Prior to Sunday, Canaan had played just 21 minutes since the All-Star break while inactive/receiving a "Did not play -- coach's decision" designation in 22 games.

Canaan had 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting, three assists and no turnovers Sunday, and Hoiberg also lauded his defense. Game 5 will be his first start of the year, Canaan played in 39 regular-season games, all in a reserve role.

"I really thought he did a good job picking up the ball and pressuring the pick-up point most of the night, a full 94 feet, some picking up right over half court," Hoiberg said. "But I thought he did a good job of that, with his initial ball pressure. Obviously, we need to get off to a much better start if we want to have any chance of winning another game in the series."

Rondo has been ruled out of Game 5 as he continues to recover from a fractured right thumb after dealing with a late-season right wrist injury. His hard cast has been removed but is still in a splint as the wrist has improved, but Rondo's thumb is still the problem, Hoiberg said. He's expected to be re-evaluated later this week.

Read more
f

We and our partners use cookies to understand how you use our site, improve your experience and serve you personalized content and advertising. Read about how we use cookies in our cookie policy and how you can control them by clicking Manage Settings. By continuing to use this site, you accept these cookies.