Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“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.”
[…] 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
[…] “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.”
CSNNE: Bass hopes opportunities arise without Rondo
Rondo didn’t seem to a problem last year, Brandon, when he… ahem… assisted in you earning a lot of money.
I get that Bass is frustrated. His shooting percentage from his money spots are down. He’s shooting just over 44% from 10-23 feet… down from 47% last year. He’s not getting as many shots as he was last year, but he’s also seeing Jared Sullinger eat up a lot of his minutes.
Why is that?
I’d venture to guess that if Bass was a better rebounder, he’d be on the floor more, and he’d have more of the opportunities he’s lo0king for. There’s a reason he’s losing minutes to Sullinger. Sullinger does one thing exceptionally well. And it’s something the Celtics need desperately.
Bass has been in a funk all season long, so to hear him take not-so-thinly-veiled shots at Rondo to blame him for it is a little off-putting to me. There’s never been a game where Rondo hasn’t given Bass the ball when he’s been open in his spot. And even with Bass’ shooting percentages down, Rondo continues to find him at the same exact pace as he did last year. Rondo assisted on 31.6% of Brandon Bass’ field goals this season. Last year… Rondo assisted on 31.6% of Bass’ field goals. The number is literally exactly the same.
But Bass has seen fit to scapegoat Rondo, which fits nicely into what’s happening a lot around Boston. People are frustrated over the Celtics lack of success this year, and they’re finding themselves an easy target with Rondo out of the line up.
The Celtics are averaging 80 shots a game. They took 161 in the 2 games without Rondo… or about 80 shots a game. The Celtics are floating around .500. They’re a little below .500 with him, they’re a little above .500 without him… but people are pretending like they’re 20-5 without Rondo and the Bobcats with him.
And all this is doing is distracting from the real issues with this team. Yes, Rondo plays a significant role in this team’s fortunes, good and bad. But suddenly people seem to forget that Pierce has struggled, Bass has struggled, Lee has struggled, Green has struggled, Terry has struggled….
… everyone has had a hand in this. Now, without one of their stars, the Celtics have no choice but to step up and make up for it. It’s unfortunate that some of these guys needed the loss of Rondo to kick them in the ass… but they did. How this team will do the rest of the season without him is yet to be determined. But the pot-shots and overly exaggerated arguments are ridiculous… as is Bass’ insinuation that he’s now going to be better off.
People have short memories sometimes.
Related links: Herald: Brandon Bass finds rhythm | MWDN: Bass sees potential for better days ahead
The rest of the links:
Herald: Doc has right diagnosis for Sullinger | ESPN Boston: Quick hits from Danny Ainge | Standing pat, stepping up | Sullinger sits out | Doc: No talk about pulling the plug | WEEI: Danny Ainge would like to see Pierce retire as a Celtic | Barbosa: Trade demand was definitely a miscommunication | Doc: “silly” to think C’s are better without Rondo | CSNNE: C’s speeding it up without Rondo | Rivers reacts to Baby’s broken foot | Sullinger 50/50 for Magic game | Globe: Without Rondo, Celtics plan more ball movement | Ainge: We’re open and listening | MWDN: Celtics wins coming with new style
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