Brandon Bass; Healthy and Even More Productive

It is amazing how well things have fallen into place in the last month. You simply can't point to one or two things that are going well. To wit, the Celtics are playing so well right now because Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, and Avery Bradley are all playing so well. Well imagine that.

Flying under the radar is another name that is playing well: Brandon Bass. One of the reasons for his uptick in play is health - as Scott Souza details here:

Celtics' Bass on board - Framingham, MA - The MetroWest Daily News

Eventually, the knee inflammation became so severe — affecting his shot to the point where even "No-pass Bass" was becoming shy to pull the trigger — he was shut down in the two weeks leading into the All-Star break. The hope was the extended rest would clear up the pain once and for all. "I didn’t really feel better coming back after the All-Star break," he admitted before breaking out a sly smile after scoring 16 points with 10 rebounds in Sunday’s 91-72 victory against the Heat. "But I’m starting to feel better now." And he’s starting to play better than he has, perhaps, at any point of his career.

His 12.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and even 0.9 assists, top a list of career bests in nearly every offensive category this season. Those stats have jumped even higher during the past eight games, in which he's averaged 13.9 points and 7.0 rebounds.

Here's hoping his knee can keep getting better and keep him in the lineup. We're a better team with him on the court (and obviously we can't afford to lose any more bigs).