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Brandon Bass has had his share of ups and downs this season - at one point losing his starting position to rookie Jared Sullinger. Last night was a microcosm of his year. He started off getting into foul trouble and struggling from the field, but he re-focused himself and had a huge second half.
Brandon Bass spurs Celtics over Timberwolves in the second half - Celtics - Boston.com
In 11 minutes in the third quarter, Bass went 5 for 5 from the field, scoring 10 of the Celtics’ 32 points, as the team built a lead the Timberwolves would never take back. The Celtics had started the quarter down by 4 points, and finished it ahead by 7 on their way to a 104-94 win at TD Garden. "I thought he showed huge resiliency," said guard Jason Terry. "And we’ve talked about that. When something is not going right for you, can you look outside yourself and think about the team?
That team first mentality is what Doc has been preaching.
Bass snaps out of funk - BostonHerald.com
"Brandon got the early fouls, got into a funk a little bit, and came back out in the second half," said the Celtics coach. "Someone was telling me the other day something that (Kendrick Perkins [stats]) said, and he was talking about giving yourself to the team. "It’s amazing — it’s what I’ve been preaching," Rivers continued. "When you do that, it’s amazing how good things happen. When you just go and play your game and play hard, good things happen. That was Brandon in the second half."
Bass is an important player on this team. He doesn't get a lot of attention because he's not a star and he doesn't have Jeff Green's contract, but he's a starter and one of our best big men. If he's struggling, it puts a lot of pressure on Garnett to perform.
In time we may see Sullinger either pass him on the depth chart or at least make Bass expendable via trade. But for now, the more we can get out of Brandon the better.