Celtics Title Town

What I liked more than Bass putting up 14 points? He was aggressive on the glass with 9 rebounds. Plus his defense on Noah. He blocked just one shot, but it felt like more.Bass joked after the game about being call no pass Bass. But he did have two assists against the Bulls. Bass played a season high 40 minutes in the process. Mainly because Doc wanted to rest KG as much as possible.

"I try to take the same approach every night, but those guys are solid bigs, so you've definitely got to bring your A-game," Bass said. "I just kind of put it in my head that I would have to play a lot harder if KG wasn't going to play as many minutes, so I definitely kept that in mind."

The Celtics need Bass to be the Bass of last season if not a bit better. He hasn't been the same player that gave the Celtics 12 points a game. I think for a number of reasons. Jeff Green can play his role at times, and Green brings more to the table. With Sullinger out for the season. Bass is a need more than anytime this season.

It was clear that Bass was visibly working harder. The Celtics need that same effort the rest of the way. Bass has battled through periods of inconsistency and ineffectiveness this season, and it's been frustrating. I'm sure it's been more frustrating for Bass, but if he can play defense like he did against Chicago. That's what I care about at the end of the day.