ATLANTAThis is what happens when you have a season like the one Brandon Bass has had for the Boston Celtics.
This town is big on tradition, obviously.
So if you go a full season notching double-figure scoring night after double-figure scoring night the way Bass did, guess what?
You're expected to continue doing thatand then somewhen the playoffs arrive.
Bass has appeared in 59 regular season games, tallying double-figure points 44 times.
Only Paul Pierce (56) and Kevin Garnett (54) have more games with 10 or more points scored than Bass.
Right now, Bass has failed to reach double figures scoring in four straight gamesthe longest single-digit scoring stretch he's had as a Celtic.
Boston Celtics
Worried? Concerned? Frustrated?
None of the above, says Bass.
"It's not frustrating," Bass told CSNNE.com. "It's time for me to make my adjustments. It's just a game. I just have to make mine, and we'll go from there."
Bass said the Hawks have done a lot of switching on pick-and-rolls which has cut down on the number of open looks he's used to getting.
Head coach Doc Rivers believes Bass' recent struggles are two-fold.
"His mind is alive, which is never good," Rivers told CSNNE.com. "He's just gotta play. We showed him (video) . . . he's open. He's pump-faking; just shoot it."
Bass scored eight points in each of the first two playoff games, which extended his streak of single-digit scoring games to four in a row.
He'll be the first to tell you that he has to bring more to the game, even if it's not necessarily as a scorer.
"I just have to find a way to get more involved in the game earlier," Bass said. "Blocking shots or something, rebounding, get everybody else involved if they're going to try and take me out of scoring."
Rivers also believes that Bass' struggles at times have to do with not having Rajon Rondo on the floor.
"Not having Rondo does a lot of things," Rivers said. "The single guy it affects the most is Brandon, by far. Because Rondo's the guy that makes the passes on the picks and pops (to Bass). And Brandon has struggled in the games that Rondo hasn't played in."
However, the numbers show that Bass' play isn't all that off the mark in games in which Rondo isn't playing.
Of the 14 games Rondo has missed this season, Bass has played in 12 of them.
In those 12 games, he has averaged 12.5 points per game.
This season?
Bass averaged 12.5 points per game.
And as far as him shooting the ball, Bass has shot 47.7 percent without Rondo, and 47.9 percent with him.
With or without Rondo, the facts remain the same.
Bass needs to play better and bring the same kind of consistent mid-range shooting touch to the playoffs that he displayed during most of the regular season.
"I'm not worried about it," Bass said. "Like I said, they've made adjustments to my game. Now it's my turn to do the same."