Brandon Bass gets his big break in Game -5; More worries for the Philadelphia 76ers – NBA Update
Coming into the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Boston Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers knew that if they are to proceed to the NBA Finals, they will have to contain the ‘Fantastic Four’ in Rajon Rondo, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.
However, little did they know that even after shutting those four down, the C’s will still find a hero.
That hero was Brandon Bass, the man who erupted with an 18 point third quarter to hand Game 5 to the Greens. Bass finished the night with 27 points, propelling Boston to a 101-85 victory.
No one could have imagined that Brandon, who averaged 11.75 points per game on just 45.5% shooting before game 5 could pull off such a huge night. Bass had averaged 12.5 points and 6.2 boards in the regular season, but his efficiency started to go down as soon as the post season started.
With the Celtics already short on quality reserves, his poor form was becoming a concern.
The forward took his time and watched extra films to identify how Sixers are defending him. He acted upon coaches’ advice to be more aggressive and that worked wonders.
The forward was 9-for-13 on Wednesday night and seemed to make the shot every time; the ball was in his hands;
"It's just hard work,'' the first-year Celtic explained after the game.”Grinding is what got me to this point, and that's what I'm going to continue to do.
The 18 point by Bass are the highest any player has scored so far in the playoffs, surpassing the 17, LeBron James pounded on the New York Knicks in the first round series.
Bass didn’t know himself that he tallied 18 in the third until a reporter mentioned that to him.
"Yeah, it's a first time for a lot of things, man,'' laughed Bass.”That's why you see all these beads on my forehead, because I'm a little bit nervous."
Bass’s emergence has also got a lot to do with Rondo, who dished out 14 assists in the game and gave the power forward plenty of open looks at the Philadelphia rim.
With Bass hitting form, the Sixers have now got their work cut out. The key to their winning 2 games so far in this series has been their defence on Kevin Garnett. However, in Bass, the Celtics have now found another reliable option on the glass and that only means trouble for Doug Collins’ team.
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