Brandon Bass: The Most Underrated Player On The Celtics

On a team full of All-Stars and future Hall of Famers, some of the role players whose contributions have just as big of an impact as the starters tend to be overlooked. As a Celtics fan, it’s easy to notice what every player brings to the team. But there is one guy who was probably the most underrated, yet a very valuable player for the Celtics last season; Brandon Bass

Before he could even play in one game, some of the Orlando journalists, and a few national sportswriters, said that Brandon Bass’ defense wasn’t as good as Glen Davis’. Yet they agreed that acquiring Bass made the Celtics better. They also said that his offensive game was primarily taking jump shots and he didn’t play in the paint that often. But throughout the season, he began to develop that part of his game.

Whether it had anything to do with playing next to Kevin Garnett or not, Bass’ defense looked solid, and much more defined than his days in Orlando. There were times when Bass would get lost on defense, but that was to be expected since he was sent to a new team, and with the lockout shortened season, he had to learn a lot in a short period of time.

One thing worth noting was that Bass was originally a bench player on the Celtics, until injuries started taking a toll on the team. During his time as a starter, he became one of the more consistent players on the roster. He always seemed to find himself in double figures in scoring a majority of the season.

Offensively, we did see that Bass’ game is hitting shots from 10-20 feet out. When he got into a groove, he knocked those shots down consistently through the course of a game. But as the season went on, Bass started to play more in the paint, he was no longer a one dimensional player.

I can think back to a few games in the playoffs, especially in the series versus the 76ers. Once he got in the paint, you would have had to foul him hard to stop him from going up strong on both layups and dunks.

If you take a look at Brandon Bass’ stats, he would have eclipsed all his season highs in his career if last season wasn’t shortened. In 59 games, he had more blocks, steals, and nearly more assists than he did in 76 games with the Magic the prior season. His per game totals went up as well, improving his points and rebounds per game.

I’ve probably said it a few hundred times throughout the season, but the Celtics walked away with a steal when they acquired Bass. He was more productive and played harder than Glen Davis had in the last two seasons with Boston.

I’m looking forward to seeing what Bass does this year. After playing in his first year with the Celtics, I expect him to be sharper on the defensive end, and when on the fast breaks, to be ready for Rajon Rondo’s passes.