Musings from a bored Celtics fan in August

[TheFlex]

Hey guys, wrote another article -- this time about the Celts -- and was wondering what you all thought. I briefly cover the value of Brandon Bass, Marcus Smart's potential, and the rare opportunity afforded to the Celtics thanks to Danny's shrewdness (particularly in the Brooklyn deal).

Here's an excerpt:

Lowe is right in saying that Bass can neither hit a three nor slide in as a competent rim protector. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Bass isn’t versatile. Bass has the strength to defend any power forward and the mobility to stick with most small forwards, a need as evident as ever in NBA circles with LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony at the height of their offensive powers. Bass also provides modest floor spacing as well, shooting at a prolific 56% clip between 10-16 feet out.

No one is arguing that such shooting ability puts him in the floor-spacing role player stratosphere that Spencer Hawes and Channing Frye are in, but it certainly separates him from a guy with no outside game such as Tristan Thompson.

Much of Bass’ problem has to do with confusion regarding his abilities and versatility. Bass will never be a great NBA player, but it’s overstated how obsolete he is. There’s a difference between being a poor man’s David Lee and a poor man’s Shawn Marion (a comparison I find far more accurate for Bass). Given the league’s recent fads, it’s unfortunate how inaccurate NBA front offices are in distinguishing the two.

- http://thesportsbloggers.com/nba/847

[D.o.s.]

Interested to hear you justify the description of Brandon Bass as a poor man's Shawn Marion.

[TheFlex]

Interested to hear you justify the description of Brandon Bass as a poor man's Shawn Marion.

- Can defend 3s/4s
- Mobile and explosive. People undersell Brandon's athleticism because he frequents the elbow as a shooter. He can cover a lot of ground in one leap when he's in the post.
- Strong mid-range game (Marion shoots about 15-20% of his shots between 10-16 feet. Hits about 40-45% from that area).

There are tons of reasons why Marion is a better and more versatile player than Brandon Bass. That doesn't discredit the comparison.

[LooseCannon]

I wouldn't call Brandon Bass a guy who can defend 3s.

[D.o.s.]

Interested to hear you justify the description of Brandon Bass as a poor man's Shawn Marion.

- Can defend 3s/4s
- Mobile and explosive. People undersell Brandon's athleticism because he frequents the elbow as a shooter. He can cover a lot of ground in one leap when he's in the post.
- Strong mid-range game (Marion shoots about 15-20% of his shots between 10-16 feet. Hits about 40-45% from that area).

There are tons of reasons why Marion is a better and more versatile player than Brandon Bass. That doesn't discredit the comparison.

I don't think Marion's got a comparable mid range game to Bass (shot charts from last season below), because Bass is a much better mid-range shooter than Marion is, as well as being a more frequent shooter from inside the arc. I also tend to agree with LC: while Bass might have defended LeBron for stretches, I don't think you can extrapolate that out into 'he can defend small forwards'.

They are both athletic, that's true, but I see the David Lee (or even David West) comparison much more clearly.

For comparison:
http://vorped.com/bball/index.php/player/shotchart/996-Shawn-Marion/season/2013-2014-REG
http://vorped.com/bball/index.php/player/shotchart/1158-Brandon-Bass/season/2013-2014-REG