Before the season started, Brandon Bass said that he signed with the Magic with one goal in mind – winning the NBA championship.
"“I’m all about winning and this organization is all about winning. The team was a couple of plays away from winning the championship. With the new the guys we added and with the core they already have, I think we can win it all this year. I don’t got a problem being the team’s garbage man. Whatever the role may be, whatever it takes to win the championship, I’m with it. Whatever my role is, I want to be the best at it.”"
It was thought that Bass would have a bigger role in his fifth season as a pro, but after missing just three games in the past two seasons, Bass has missed nine games in the 2009 season and has seen this stat line, DNP – Coaches Decision, eight times this season. Bass played 19.7 minutes per game during the 2007-2008 season and 19.4 minutes per game last season, but he seen his minutes per game fall to 17.0. And outside of the December 2nd contest against the Knicks, he has not logged heavy time since the return of Power Forward Rashard Lewis.
Even though Magic General Manager Otis Smith has said that he has no plans to trade Bass, Bass and reserve Center Marcin Gortat head to the forefront of any trade rumors involving the Magic.
Bass signed a four year, $18-million contract during the summer.
Bass is clearly frustrated with his role on the team right now, but is sucking it up and trying to stay positive for the good of the entire club.
You wouldn’t know it due to his reduced minutes, but Brandon Bass has actually been a very efficient player when given the opportunity. He ranks 20th among all Power Forward in PER. Bass is shooting the ball extremely well this season, going 53.8% from the field. Considering that 66% of Bass’ shots are jump shots, which makes his shooting percentage even more impressive.
Bass has certainly had his struggles. He has not rebounded the ball as well as Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy has liked him too and has pointed that out on several occasions. He’s averaging just 2.9 rebounds per game and his rebounding percentage is currently a career-low 9.6%.
Bass’ defense has been shaky all season long, but he played very well on that end of the floor in Wednesday night’s victory over the Toronto Raptors. He entered the game and the second quarter did an excellent job against All-Star Chris Bosh.
When asked about the way he defended Bosh, Bass said that he was just happy to be back on the court.
"“It felt great (to get back on the court). It’s always great to be out there and contributing to your team’s success.”"
Bass stated he just wants to play and help the team, any way he can.
"“All I want to do is contribute. We’ve got a championship squad. Any given night, somebody can have a big rebounding game, a big scoring game, a big defensive game.”"
For Bass, despite his limited playing time, the goal remains the same.
"“I just want to contribute because I think we’re going to be in the finals and our goal is to win the championship.”"
(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger and a contributor at NFL Mocks Subscribe to his RSS feed and add him on Twitter to follow him daily.)