Brandon Bass stepping his game up in the playoffs
Celtics coach Doc Rivers called forward Brandon Bass "the star of the game" for his defense on Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony. Bass limited Anthony to 10-of-35 shooting before fouling out.
"He just defended, and he did it over and over and over again," said Rivers. "There are a lot of guys you want to defend; I don't know if Carmelo would be the one you would pick."
Bass had four points and four rebounds, but Anthony seemed to struggle the most with the larger Bass on him. Bass said defending LeBron James, which he did during last year's playoffs, is nothing like defending Anthony.
"They're totally different," said Bass. "They're both tough covers, but they're different."
On his ability to guard smaller players with some success, Bass said, "Earlier in the season we did a lot of pick-and-rolls that had me switching on the guards. Doc saw I could move my feet so he said, 'Why not?'"
Bass will never put up big numbers. He won't even put up Big Baby numbers. But as long as he's hitting his jumper, making an effort on the boards, and playing good defense, he can be an asset. Whether he's overpaid or not is basically a moot point now. There's no do-overs on contracts. The key is to get the most out of Bass moving forward. Bass showed improved effort on the boards towards the end of the season. it's good to see the positivity carry forward into the playoffs.
