Bulls to start Canaan at point guard in Game 5

CHICAGO — Rolling along with a humming offense not too long ago, the Chicago Bulls will now try to regroup, and they’ll do it with a seldom-used point guard making a crucial start.

The Bulls will go with Isaiah Canaan in Game 5 of their NBA first-round series against Boston in Game 5 on Wednesday, hoping he can stabilize an offense struggling without the injured Rajon Rondo.

More importantly, Chicago will try to regain the lead in a series after back-toback home losses.

“I really thought he did a good job picking up the ball and pressuring the pickup point a full 94 feet,” Bulls Coach Fred Hoiberg said Monday. “I thought his initial ball pressure was good. We have to get off to a much better start if we want to have any chance of winning another game in this series.”

The eighth-seeded Bulls looked as if they were positioning themselves to knock off the top-seeded Celtics after taking the first two games in Boston. But they haven’t been the same with Rondo missing the past two because of a broken right thumb.

The cast he had on his sprained right wrist was off Monday, though he still had a splint for the thumb and wrist. Hoiberg would not rule him out for the rest of the series.

Rondo’s injury seems to have exposed a lack of depth at a key position. Things got so bad in Game 4 on Sunday that the Bulls actually had to turn to Canaan in the first quarter.

He played reasonably well with 13 points in 34 minutes in his first appearance since April 10 and tried his best to contain Isaiah Thomas. But it was jarring to see him in such a big spot. Hoiberg yanked struggling starter Jerian Grant after about five minutes and never went back to him.

Backup Michael Carter-Williams then picked up two quick fouls and only made a cameo after that in the third quarter, when Thomas led the Celtics on the go-ahead run. The Bulls had Cameron Payne inactive and opted not to go with first-round draft pick Denzel Valentine. That meant prime playing time for Canaan.

“It felt good to be out there to battle with my teammates,” he said. “I just want to go out there, just give energy, just try to make my opponent as miserable as possible. The opportunity came and I just wanted to take full advantage of it.”

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