Denton: Bass Remains Hard at Work
By John Denton
February 4, 2010
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic had already conducted a 2 ½-hour practice on Thursday and most of the players had already cleared out of the facility. Not Brandon Bass, who was doing leaps on the court as strength and conditioning coach Joe Rogowski pulled against him with a stretchy cord.
The extra work that Bass was putting in and the beads of sweat pouring from his brow just showed that he hasn’t given up on making a big impact on this season just yet.
``It’s been hard and I’ve been battling with it, but I just try to improve upon my game,’’ Bass said following Thursday’s extra session before his Magic (33-16) host the Washington Wizards (16-32) tonight at 7 p.m. ``But if I just stay down, I feel like that will hurt myself. I just want to be prepared and ready when coach does call my name.’’
Bass signed a four-year, $18 million free-agent contract with Orlando in the offseason, feeling as though he could give the team some of the interior toughness and nastiness that it lacked at times last season. Bass said he watched last spring’s NBA Finals how the bigger Los Angeles Lakers muscled the Magic inside and knew he wanted to play in Orlando.
But his chances to play so far have been few and far between. He’s played in just 28 games – the second fewest on the active roster. He’s not been on the floor at all in the past four games, and what time he’s gotten has been mostly spot play because of foul trouble or end of the game mop-up duty.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was somewhat of a trail blazer in how he brought a style of using a perimeter shooting power forward to Orlando three seasons ago. That formula has been mostly a success, winning 52 games in 2007-08, getting to the NBA Finals in 2008-09 and winning 33 times so far.
Van Gundy’s style has been a boon for center Dwight Howard because playing a ``stretch four’’ has kept opposing power forwards from double-teaming on him and have given him more room to operate inside.
Rashard Lewis is a fixture on the team, and he led the NBA in 3-pointers made and attempted last season. Ryan Anderson, acquired in the Vince Carter trade with New Jersey last June, has been the surprise replacement at power forward because he plays a style similar to Lewis. Lewis ranks first on the Magic in 3-point attempts (241), while Anderson is fifth (159).
But that’s not the style of Bass, a rugged 6-foot-8, 250-pound power forward with explosive leaping ability. He played big minutes early in the second when Lewis was suspended for the first 10 games, but since then he’s wondered about where he fits in on this Magic team.
``(Mid-range shooters) isn’t one of coach’s favorites. He wants everybody under the goal or at the 3-point line,’’ said Bass, the only player on the team to not attempt a 3-point shot this season. ``Hopefully I can gain some favor with him and get some time. Until then I just have to keep working. I am working on the corner 3.
``I know why they brought me in,’’ he continued. ``They told me a lot of things. I can do a variety of different things, but the thing that I don’t do is shoot the 3-pointer. I can space the floor and make plays from the 3-point line, but I don’t shoot it from there and that’s not a part of my game yet.’’
Bass admitted that there have been nights against bigger teams and stronger power forwards where he thought he’d play, only to not get into games. He still thinks there’s a place for him on the Magic and that at some point he’ll have a big role on the team.
``I can fit anywhere. I know (having shooting on the floor) is how they want to play, but me coming here I thought I’d be something different that we could use,’’ he said. ``The majority of nights we’re going to be team that stretches the floor to keep guys from keying on Dwight, but other nights we can play different. But I think some nights we can give teams a different look. But as far as me fitting here, I think I can fit anywhere. I’m not a hard guy to get along with.’’
Bass is one of the most well-liked players on the team, usually staying long after games to joke in the locker room with teammates. That, he said, has helped him cope with not playing in an odd sort of way. And he’s drawn the praise of Van Gundy for his practice habits, continuing to work hard in drills at familiarizing himself with the Magic’s defensive rotations and offensive sets.
The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 18, but Bass said he has no intentions to ask out of Orlando and he expects to be on the roster through the season. Bass pointed out that he turned down more money in the offseason when he was pursued by Detroit, Charlotte and Dallas, but he picked Orlando because his focus is on trying to win a title. That hasn’t changed even though he’s not playing as much as he’d like.
``I only signed here because I wanted to win a championship,’’ he said. ``It does just eat at me because I can’t contribute. We’ve struggled some, but I feel like we can peak at the right time and we’ll be able to pull it out.
``Would it surprise me and shock me if I was traded?’’ he asked. ``Yeah, it would. I feel like I’m the piece that last year that they were missing. I know it’s going to come around because I know that I’m good enough to play and help this team. I just have to stay positive.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard each week on ESPN 1080 AM. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
By John DentonFebruary 4, 2010
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Magic and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.
ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic had already conducted a 2 ½-hour practice on Thursday and most of the players had already cleared out of the facility. Not Brandon Bass, who was doing leaps on the court as strength and conditioning coach Joe Rogowski pulled against him with a stretchy cord.
The extra work that Bass was putting in and the beads of sweat pouring from his brow just showed that he hasn’t given up on making a big impact on this season just yet.
``It’s been hard and I’ve been battling with it, but I just try to improve upon my game,’’ Bass said following Thursday’s extra session before his Magic (33-16) host the Washington Wizards (16-32) tonight at 7 p.m. ``But if I just stay down, I feel like that will hurt myself. I just want to be prepared and ready when coach does call my name.’’
Bass signed a four-year, $18 million free-agent contract with Orlando in the offseason, feeling as though he could give the team some of the interior toughness and nastiness that it lacked at times last season. Bass said he watched last spring’s NBA Finals how the bigger Los Angeles Lakers muscled the Magic inside and knew he wanted to play in Orlando.
But his chances to play so far have been few and far between. He’s played in just 28 games – the second fewest on the active roster. He’s not been on the floor at all in the past four games, and what time he’s gotten has been mostly spot play because of foul trouble or end of the game mop-up duty.
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy was somewhat of a trail blazer in how he brought a style of using a perimeter shooting power forward to Orlando three seasons ago. That formula has been mostly a success, winning 52 games in 2007-08, getting to the NBA Finals in 2008-09 and winning 33 times so far.
Van Gundy’s style has been a boon for center Dwight Howard because playing a ``stretch four’’ has kept opposing power forwards from double-teaming on him and have given him more room to operate inside.
Rashard Lewis is a fixture on the team, and he led the NBA in 3-pointers made and attempted last season. Ryan Anderson, acquired in the Vince Carter trade with New Jersey last June, has been the surprise replacement at power forward because he plays a style similar to Lewis. Lewis ranks first on the Magic in 3-point attempts (241), while Anderson is fifth (159).
But that’s not the style of Bass, a rugged 6-foot-8, 250-pound power forward with explosive leaping ability. He played big minutes early in the second when Lewis was suspended for the first 10 games, but since then he’s wondered about where he fits in on this Magic team.
``(Mid-range shooters) isn’t one of coach’s favorites. He wants everybody under the goal or at the 3-point line,’’ said Bass, the only player on the team to not attempt a 3-point shot this season. ``Hopefully I can gain some favor with him and get some time. Until then I just have to keep working. I am working on the corner 3.
``I know why they brought me in,’’ he continued. ``They told me a lot of things. I can do a variety of different things, but the thing that I don’t do is shoot the 3-pointer. I can space the floor and make plays from the 3-point line, but I don’t shoot it from there and that’s not a part of my game yet.’’
Bass admitted that there have been nights against bigger teams and stronger power forwards where he thought he’d play, only to not get into games. He still thinks there’s a place for him on the Magic and that at some point he’ll have a big role on the team.
``I can fit anywhere. I know (having shooting on the floor) is how they want to play, but me coming here I thought I’d be something different that we could use,’’ he said. ``The majority of nights we’re going to be team that stretches the floor to keep guys from keying on Dwight, but other nights we can play different. But I think some nights we can give teams a different look. But as far as me fitting here, I think I can fit anywhere. I’m not a hard guy to get along with.’’
Bass is one of the most well-liked players on the team, usually staying long after games to joke in the locker room with teammates. That, he said, has helped him cope with not playing in an odd sort of way. And he’s drawn the praise of Van Gundy for his practice habits, continuing to work hard in drills at familiarizing himself with the Magic’s defensive rotations and offensive sets.
The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 18, but Bass said he has no intentions to ask out of Orlando and he expects to be on the roster through the season. Bass pointed out that he turned down more money in the offseason when he was pursued by Detroit, Charlotte and Dallas, but he picked Orlando because his focus is on trying to win a title. That hasn’t changed even though he’s not playing as much as he’d like.
``I only signed here because I wanted to win a championship,’’ he said. ``It does just eat at me because I can’t contribute. We’ve struggled some, but I feel like we can peak at the right time and we’ll be able to pull it out.
``Would it surprise me and shock me if I was traded?’’ he asked. ``Yeah, it would. I feel like I’m the piece that last year that they were missing. I know it’s going to come around because I know that I’m good enough to play and help this team. I just have to stay positive.’’
John Denton writes for Orlandomagic.com. His Magic ``Behind the Scenes’’ segment can be heard each week on ESPN 1080 AM. Submit questions to John for his ``Ask J.D.’’ mailbag feature that will appear every Friday at AskJD@orlandomagic.com.
