Bass starting early on second-half improvements

Share

BOSTON -- Brandon Bass sat at his locker before the Celtics game against the Bulls and mapped out his to-do for the second half of the season.

"I want to do everything," he said. "I want to be a better rebounder in the second half, I want to be more consistent offensively, and help the team get more wins."

Bass got a head start Wednesday night in the Celtics final game before the All-Star Break.

He led all players with 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a team-high 40 minutes as the Celtics beat the Bulls, 71-69. During a two-minute sequence early in the fourth quarter, Bass hit two free throws, nabbed a steal then slammed a fast break dunk, and hit a 19-foot jump shot to cut the Celtics deficit to just three.

"I just think I was playing hard," he said. "I was doing our coverages and just playing with a lot of energy."

The power forward also defied his nickname, "No Pass Bass" and dished an assist to Kevin Garnett with 19.8 seconds left and helped put the Celtics up by three. It was only his 49th assist in 52 games.

"I think it's OK for you to call me something else," he laughed, suggesting his rap artist name, Best Bet Bass instead.

Bass has been looking to step his game up all season, and knew it was not optional on Wednesday. Before the game head coach Doc Rivers said he wanted to limit Garnett's minutes (he played 26), and there was a chance he wasn't going to play the veteran at all.

"I just kind of put it in my head that I had to play a lot harder if KG wasn't going to play as many minutes," Bass said. "I definitely kept that in mind."

Bass will return home to Orlando for the All-Star Break. He will look to bring his momentum with him when he re-joins the team next week for their west coast road trip.

"I'm going in the right direction," he said. "That's been the plan for the last month, to continue to improve and be more consistent."

Contact Us