He was lured away from the Indiana Pacers for less money and promised playing time on a winning team. He got the winning part, but an injury and lowered production numbers has meant Marquis Daniels is on the outside looking in during the Boston Celtics playoff run.
It's not a surprise to Pacers fans that the Celtics saw Daniels sit in street clothes for nearly 30 games this season. We saw that for three straight years. For two of those years, Daniels played less than 54 games and routinely missed games for minuscule injuries. But when the Celtics signed him this past summer, the team was hoping that injuries were part of the past, and that he could provide some athleticism and defense to an aging team.
After playing through the first month of the season, Daniels needed thumb surgery which quickly wiped out December and January. Daniels came back with steady playing time, fluctuating between 22-30 minutes per game but his production began dropping in March and he fell out of favor with coach Doc Rivers. He only played more than 15 minutes in three of his final 12 games.
Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald wrote this about Daniels as the season ended: "Thumb surgery wiped out most of the first half for this talented swingman, known for doing all of the little things, and defending his position tautly. One problem: Daniels hasn't displayed any of those qualities on a consistent basis since returning to the lineup. Indeed, he has been so inconsistent and tentative.. Though these things can change from game to game in the playoffs, Daniels is currently on the outside looking in at the playoff rotation."
Links and more on Daniels after the jump.
Daniels' statistics plummeted this season from his production with the Pacers. Here's how his stats compared from 2008-09 (Pacers) with the 2009-10 (Celtics): 13.6 PPG to 5.6 PPG; 4.6 RPG to 1.9 RPG; 12.8 FGA to 4.9 FGA; 31.5 MPG to 18.4 MPG. Many of this year's stats are the lowest of his career (with exceptions in his shooting percentages because of less ridiculous shots being taken).
Daniels received a DNP -- CD in the Celtics 85-76 Game 1 win against the Heat on Saturday. Only Daniels and Shelden Williams did not make it into the Celtics' lineup. At least for the Celtics they didn't have to overpay to get Daniels, but it would have been a great steal had the Pacers been able to pull off one the many deals that were being thrown around last summer between Boston and Indiana. The Pacers were in the running for several different Celtics and other teams were even brought in to try and make a 3-team trade out of it.
Swindling the Celtics with a trade for Marquis would have been brilliant, but yet again the Pacers management failed to pull off a competent player swap.
Not many links regarding the Pacers today, but here's a couple:
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Kravitz takes on Pacers plea for help
The Indy Star is needing some more advertising dollars so it's offering sneak peeks at Bob Kravitz's columns every Sunday. I read the full print edition and I think you're fine with just seeing the preview here. -
Former New York Knicks' coaching candidate Mark Jackson hopes to land job this offseason
Mark Jackson is hoping this summer is finally the one that puts him in the coaching chair. -
Why The Pacers Won't Be Leaving Indiana
Josh Dhani offers some arguments as to why the Pacers will never leave Indianapolis.