Marquis Daniels Will Make a Difference

(Keith Allison)


By: Greg Payne

Too many people are liking Marquis Daniels and how he fits in with the Celtics for it not to work. Here's what former Mavericks teammate Devin Harris had to say (from the Herald:)

“He’s going to be great for them,” Harris said before Daniels had nine points in the Celts’ 100-93 exhibition win over New Jersey yesterday. “He’s an experienced player, very versatile, and a guy who’s got a high basketball IQ. He can play different positions, whether it be point guard or two or three or whatever they need him to play. He’s got a lot of skills.”

“I don’t think people are going to realize how important Marquis will be until they see him out on the floor (in the regular season),” he said. “I think he kind of got lost in the shuffle a little bit in Indiana and kind of flourished in Dallas for a couple of years and then got lost in the shuffle there. But people are going to be able to see more of what he can do now that he’s back on a winning franchise.”

It sounds like Doc Rivers plans on resting the starters during one of the back-to-back games coming up tomorrow and Wednesday.

“Yeah, I’m sure I will,” Rivers said. “When we play the back-to-back games, a lot of the guys are going to miss one of the two games. I may split the starters up and not play two of them in one game and not play three of them in the next game. We’re not sure what we’re doing there, but I know the older players, for the most part, won’t play in both games of the back to backs.”

I'm excited to see Daniels in an extended role in one of these two games or maybe even both, along with Glen Davis. I think Daniels and Davis are capable of much more than what they've both shown so far. That's not to say I'm disappointed with their performances. On the contrary, I'm thrilled with what the second unit has produced and I just believe individual performances will be pushed to the side in favor of the unit as a whole.

But maybe in the next two games some individuals will be able to shine by themselves. I'm looking for a healthy helping of "tweener" shots from Daniels these next few games. These next two games could also be crucial for guys like Mike Sweetney, J.R. Giddens, Shelden Williams and Lester Hudson to really show what they can do.