BOSTON -- Brandon Bass turned heads when he scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in his debut with the Boston Celtics.
In the short time since then, he has established himself as a reliable contributor off the bench who can not only score, but also exemplify the Celtics foundation of defense.
On Wednesday night, in just the seventh game of the season, Bass recorded his second double-double with 15 points and a career-high tying 13 rebounds in a win against the New Jersey Nets.
There is no doubt Bass is fitting in with the Celtics. After being traded from the Orlando Magic in the deal for Glen Davis, his teammates and coaches are happy to have him around.
Brandons efficient, said Kevin Garnett after the Celtics 89-70 victory. He knows his game, he doesnt come out of that. Hes playing with a group of guys who are rooting for him and I dont think hes ever been rooted for like this. We sort of parade each other, we praise each other, but at the same time we push each other and hes no different from that. Hes falling right in to being a Celtic.
Garnett is one of the players who can benefit directly from Basss presence. Bass allows for him to take a breather while hes on the court. He also gives the Celtics a different look at the four spot -- a power forward who can both shoot a jumper and drive to the basket.
Its rare you can come out of a timeout and run a pick-and-roll for a pop for the big, said Doc Rivers. Its actually an iso for him to take someone off the dribble. Thats just nice to have. I dont think Ive ever had that.
Boston Celtics
Whether its scoring or playing defense, Bass has accepted his sixth man-type role on the Celtics. He talks of energy and bringing it each game. With that comes continuing the hard work the Celtics are seeing pay off on the court.
Before the season really kicked off I was doing two-a-days, coming back, getting extra shots up, and conditioning, Bass told CSNNE.com. Now on game days Im doing two-a-days, kind of like after our walkthroughs I put some shots up.
But thats what got me here, just hard work, consistency, and determination. Thats what got me here so Im going to continue to do that the rest of my career.