Bass hopes that opportunities arise without Rondo

Bass hopes that opportunities arise without Rondo

January 31, 2013, 5:35 pm


Ainge gets in on the action

It was interesting to see Danny Ainge working one-on-one with Brandon Bass for a few minutes before practice.

I asked Doc Rivers at practice if Ainge does those things a lot. He is, after all, a former player himself.

"Not a lot," Rivers said. "We frown on that because Danny screws them up most of the time (laughs). No we don't mind, we let him. We want him to be involved."

Bass wouldn't tell what the two were working on - "secret", he said - but it was clear by the drills that low-post moves were on the agenda.

"Sometimes, you see him talking to players here and now," Bass said of Ainge giving his two cents.



WALTHAM — Brandon Bass was working on his post moves with Celtics GM Danny Ainge about 20 minutes before practice was to begin on Thursday.

Bass is coming off one of his best games in recent memory: 12 points (4-7 from the field), four rebounds, two assists, and three steals in the Celtics' 99-81 win over the Kings.

Is it a coincidence that it came in a game that didn't involve Jared Sullinger and Rajon Rondo? That depends on who you ask.

"I just think Brandon played well last night," Doc Rivers said. "I don't think we need to give it much thought. He made the same shots he was missing three games ago. I just think what Brandon is doing now, he's not thinking about missing shots or that he's not playing well or not getting the same touches or whatever that stupid crap is. He just made shots, and I think that's basketball. It's that simple."

Bass didn't have to think about "not getting the same touches or whatever that stupid crap is" because, well, he was getting touches. According to him, there were times this year where the ball wasn't coming his way.

"Yeah, man. There were times [I wasn't getting the ball]," Bass said. "You watched the games. There were times where I didn't get it. But I didn't want to let that dictate my game."

Except it has. According to 82games.com, while 76-percent of Bass's total field goal attempts are jump shots - the same percentage as last season - his percentage of made jump shots has gone from 46.3 percent last season down to 41.0 percent this season.

What's the reasoning? Is it not being an option on offense? Spacing? Is it just in his head? Whatever it is, Bass hasn't been happy with the way he's played, nor should he be. He's last in the team's plus/minus department (the numbers don't look up to date, but he's still last regardless).

He admits that it's been tougher to find a rhythm this year.

"Little bit, but, it happens," he said. "Things change. Bringing new guys in. Doc thinks certain things work better for us. So, just things happen."

Bass feels that the ball won't stick to any one player (*cough* Rondo! *cough*) anymore, which will help.

"But now, I just think that being that everybody is moving the ball, everybody will get an opportunity to be in rhythm," he said

It was fairly easy to see that Bass didn't seem heartbroken over the loss of Rondo. Coming on the heels of Jason Terry's comments after Wednesday's game, as told to the Boston Herald - "The way we’re playing now is a little more conducive to my game, (but) I’m playing just the same as I did with Rondo. There’s no difference for me.” - Bass was asked point blank if this was a happier time for the Celtics where everybody touches the ball.

"I mean, of course you feel better by the ball touching your hands and going through your hands, whatever. But, yeah, it feels good," Bass said, before the big… "But at the same time we still miss Rondo."

Those are two big buts - and I cannot lie. Clearly, neither could Terry or Bass.

"I just think instead of one person getting 14, 15 assists, everybody gets like two, three," Bass said.

He continued: "I just think that everybody is just moving the ball. I just think everybody is going to get more looks or everybody is going to get an opportunity to make a play for somebody else."

It sure sounds a little bit more than just "shots falling for Bass" as Rivers indicated. Based on the comments, Bass wasn't happy at all with the way Rondo dominated the ball. And based on the "conducive" comment by Terry, it wasn't working well for him either.

At the end of the day, every player wants to be able to prove he can help by doing what he does best. Perhaps Rivers didn't know it, but by showcasing Rondo in the manner he was, he wasn't getting the most out of his other guys - at least, that's how they seem to feel about it. Now, Rivers has no choice.

"I think everybody is important," Rivers said when asked how important Bass is to this team. "I think Bass when he makes shots it opens it up a little bit more. I think when Jared rebounds. When a key guy in your rotation is playing well it helps your team. When a key guy in your rotation is not playing well, you need him to play well. And I don't think it's any deeper than that."

Or is it?



bob


.

Bob, An extension from your other post. Why is Ainge getting involved? Where is our BIG MAN coach? Cliff Ray did a fabulous job with Perk and Powe and others. Why don't we have someone like this?

We knew that Bass had limited 1 on 1 skills going to the basket. It was plain as day to the fan. Heck I said that he regresses in my posts as far back as November. Now, Bass is a good athlete and can learn if someone worked with him to develop moves to the basket or quick jump shots without putting the ball on the floor first, he would be more effective. WHY WAS IT NOT DONE? Are the Celtics so narrow minded as not to get a Big Man coach to drill moves into players to improve their game?

Another question. Was Bass hinting that Rondo did not distribute the ball to everyone so as to get everyone involved with the offense?

112288

112288,

Our big man coach wears #5.

You're hearing little back-handed comments from different corners more and more now. You hear this from Bass, about his disappointment in his participation in the offense with Rondo. There was a report in Grantland by Zach Lowe, quickly denied by Lee, that he wasn't happy with the offense under Rondo. There is another comment, in another article I didn't post because I ran out of daylight but will try to get to it today, about Jason Terry in which he says that he has struggled to find his place and rhythm in the old offense but thinks that "the new offense will more conducive to his game".

For players like KG and Pierce and Wilcox, whose games fit in perfectly with Rondo, you won't hear much. With other players, especially those who are new and came from systems they knew and were comfortable in, you'll get the sense that they feel liberated.

The good news is that Rondo was a good floor general who ran plays. The bad news is that he would walk the ball up so he could call those plays and that chopped up the flow and continuity.

As far as I am concerned, if these players feel better with the new offense then they should prove it by playing better, right? That works for me too.


bob


.

BOB, AGREED

Let see how they play to the end of the season. The score card will tell all.

112288

There are a lot of valid reasons why certain aspects of the Celtics' play could improve without Rondo, but I think he'll be missed most in the playoffs. The game slows down, there are fewer transition opportunities, and in those grind-it-out affairs, Rondo often carried the team on his back. Whether elevated play by players not named Garnett or Pierce can make up for that loss will be their biggest challenge.

Outside, The game only slows down if you want it to slow down Tommy Heinsohn's playoff teams in the 1970"s ran ran ran until the other teams quit!

Here is an excerpt:

After a solid 56-26 regular season in 1973-74, the stage was set for the Celtics' first NBA Finals appearance since 1968-69. Their opponents, the Milwaukee Bucks with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, were favored to win. But the shorter Cowens capitalized on his quickness and determination, proving that a championship team didn't need a big man in the middle. In the climactic seventh game in Milwaukee, Cowens scored 28 points and snatched 14 rebounds to push Boston to a 102-87 win.

The victory was an affirmation of Heinsohn's coaching ideas. In what he called "guerrilla warfare," his teams kept the pressure on opponents at all times, controlling the tempo of the game and playing with great intensity. "We made teams crack in these playoffs," he told the Boston Globe. "We got them to points in big games in the fourth quarter where they just didn't want to play anymore."

112288

Hi,
I'm a little bit suspicious that all rumors about players not getting along with RR are coming from the same writer and, those players deny the rumor.

AK

sinus007 wrote:Hi,
I'm a little bit suspicious that all rumors about players not getting along with RR are coming from the same writer and, those players deny the rumor.

AK

sinus,

Why do you say the same writer is writing them all?


This interview with Bass was written by Jimmy Toscano of CSNNE.com

The claim that Courtney Lee was frustrated with Rondo was written by Zach Lowe of Grantland.

The quote by JET, ""With this style that we're playing now, I think it's a little more conducive to my game," was part of a column written by Greg Payne of ESPN-Boston.


bob


.

Bob, Sinus

This is not new dirt. It was confirmed by Doc 3 years ago about Rondo.

112288

Last year Bass did not have to share minutes with Green or Sullinger.

Bass averaged .34 shots per minute while playing 31.7 mpg and he shot.479

This year he us at .26 shots pm playing 25.8 mpg and shooting .444

Dboss

With respect to the shoot distribution, last year 5 players averaged between 14.6 to 10.8 shots per

This year only 3 are taking 10+ shots per game. Considering all the new players it is not surprising because of not being familar with rr,, pp and kg

Dboss

bobheckler wrote:

sinus007 wrote:Hi,
I'm a little bit suspicious that all rumors about players not getting along with RR are coming from the same writer and, those players deny the rumor.

AK

sinus,

Why do you say the same writer is writing them all?


This interview with Bass was written by Jimmy Toscano of CSNNE.com

The claim that Courtney Lee was frustrated with Rondo was written by Zach Lowe of Grantland.

The quote by JET, ""With this style that we're playing now, I think it's a little more conducive to my game," was part of a column written by Greg Payne of ESPN-Boston.


bob


.

My bad, I thought it was Lowe.

AK