Chicago Bulls: Kay Felder, Antonio Blakeney need more minutes

The Chicago Bulls should be giving Kay Felder and Antonio Blakeney more minutes

Jerian Grant will never be a stud point guard in the NBA, nor will he be even as good as Ben Gordon as a shooting guard. Kris Dunn needs guys to pass to on the wing and may be better off as a back-up point guard than as a starting playmaker.

Both are actually development projects for their respective roles on the Chicago Bulls, but the eye test has more than shown how poor both players play with their teammates as starters.

Grant will inexplicably dribble into a double team and not know what to do, often throws the ball away against athletic defenders, and can’t create his own jumper in the manner that most NBA stud scoring point guards can, shooting at will against any kind of defense.

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Grant gets his long range bombs or jumpers from catch-and-shoot when the ball swings around. It may take a few more games for everyone to see that this point guard project is hopeless. Grant can’t defend against opposing playmakers who drive strong to the hoop, and is often caught standing around watching the play helplessly on defense.

Who can replace him on the team as either playmaker or scoring guard? Enter Kay Felder.

If you’re into the NBA for the stats, you’re watching it all wrong. Watch how Kay Felder sets up his teammates by looking for his shot in the paint, luring defenders to him, then slipping the pass to the post attacker, whether from on top of the arc or when he is attacking the rim himself.

Felder has ball handles few guards in the NBA have, and he was a scoring point guard in college averaging 30 to 40 a game. Felder can literally run rings around his defenders and take the ball to the rack at will, if he were given the green light.

Think about that.

If you are an analytics fan, you should check that Felder can generate both points and assists with urgency in the limited time he is playing on the court and his set plays are a beauty to behold as Bulls fans should attest.

Felder also is sneaky enough to lurk in passing lanes or blindside opposing bigs by swatting the ball when they enter the paint with him around. By quality of point guard plays and minutes and setting his teammates up for scoring opportunities, Felder is light years ahead of Jerian Grant.

But, who would you pair with Felder on the Chicago Bulls?

The Bulls got a very, very good look at their undrafted steal, Antonio Blakeney in their recent match with OKC Thunder, and the LSU alumnus, torched the nets for 16 points in 22 minutes. Previously, Blakeney got a workout with the Windy City Bulls for two games and gunned a combined 79 points for his stint

Keeping this standout offensive machine for the next few games, Hoiberg gave him plenty of accolades:

"Blakeney showed some real signs of a guy who can go out and put the ball in the basket, which obviously we need in a big way right now. He’s a guy who can create his own shot. He can get to the basket."

Kris Dunn may take a while to get into NBA starter shape, and may actually play better with both Antonio Blakeney and Zach LaVine running in tandem with him on the bteak, and Dunn can’t generate much offense by himself off one-on-one moves.

So the best the Bulls can do is play Dunn as back-up to Felder and Blakeney, and with more minutes alongside LaVine when he comes back. Both Felder and Blakeney hold more promise for quick starts and keeping up with other NBA teams even as very young players.

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If the Chicago Bulls aren’t going to lose all of their December games with Jerian Grant and Kris Dunn as starters, they better figure out real fast that their best backcourt players are not playing enough minutes.

Unless that is what is what they really want.

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