Brandon Bass: C
Brandon Bass was never going to have a major role with the LA Clippers after signing for the veteran’s minimum in free agency this summer, and that’s proven to be the case so far.
He’s only played in nine games and averaged 9.1 minutes a night in that handful of appearances, so the sample size we have for his impact is rather small. As the backup power forward behind Blake Griffin, when Doc Rivers also plays a lot of small ball with the bench using Wesley Johnson at the four, doesn’t leave much opportunity for Bass. But he’s played fairly well when given the chance.
With only 142 total minutes under his belt, we can’t take statistics for Bass too seriously when a few runs in a game or two could drastically throw off his averages. His 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per 36 minutes for the season are solid, though, and he’s done what was expected of him in the offense: roll hard off the occasional pick-and-roll, and pop whenever possible from 15 feet. He’s done that well and has shot 50 percent from the floor with the handful of attempts he’s had, while providing some solid defense at the other end.
By the numbers, the Clippers’ defense has actually been terrible with Bass on the floor. They’ve allowed an extortionate 128.3 points per 100 possessions with him in the game, a drastic increase of 26.4 points when he’s on the bench. However, it’s hard to take this number too seriously given how little he’s been used and how he’ll often be used with the bench in garbage time when other teams are still fighting hard to come back. The Clippers are going to be outscored in such instances.
With the eye test, you can see Bass plays hard and has done his job to switch against some smaller players, even though he can’t be relied upon to protect the rim. For being adequate in limited time, a C grade for Bass seems fair.
Next, some Mo’ Buckets.