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15 hours ago

Rondo Replacing Johnson on All-Star Team

The Herald got it right from Rondo’s agent. According to his agent, Bill Duffy, the Celtics point guard has been named to the Eastern Conference All-star roster, presumably to replace Joe Johnson, the injured Atlanta Hawks guard. This would be Rondo’s third all-star appearance. Nice birthday present for RR, who probably should have been selected [...]

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3 days ago

Comments Deleting?

We apologize if your comments are being deleted (provided that they are not offensive). We are looking into why this is happening. We also want to apologize for the lack of a game thread for last night’s game.  We had a premonition that the Celtics would play that poorly and thought if we pretended the [...]

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7 days ago

5 Questions With Greg Monroe

I talked with Detroit star forward Greg Monroe prior to the Celtics-Pistons game on Wednesday night.  Here is what the 2nd year big man out of Georgetown, who is averaging 16.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists per game had to say. 1. Just your 2nd year in the league, but playing so well, were you disappointed [...]

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8 days ago

Call for Responses: 5-on-5

Readers! Last week’s responses to the 5-on-5 questions were really, really great. We had way more qualified answers than we were able to use. So we’re going to keep doing it! FOREVER. Here are this week’s questions: 1. Are you concerned about Rondo’s media boycott this week? 2. The trade deadline is less than a [...]

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11 days ago

5 Questions With Ronnie Brewer

I talked with Chicago starting guard Ronnie Brewer prior to the Celtics-Bulls game on Sunday.  Here is what the 6th year man out of Arkansas who is averaging 7.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists had to say. 1. You guys have a lot of the same players back from last year’s team which was [...]

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13 days ago

5 Questions With Josh McRoberts

I talked to Los Angeles back up big man Josh McRoberts prior to the Celtics-Lakers game Thursday night at the Garden.  Here is what the former Duke Blue Devil, who is averaging 2.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in his first year in LA, had to say. 1. How have you guys been able to deal [...]

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Preseason Recap: The Unsung Hero

(Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Preseason is over and what better way to kill time before the regular season than to try and draw any conclusions from eight meaningless games.  Today’s topic is Marquis Daniels.

The back-up small forward position is a sensitive subject for the Celtics.  Last season, coach Doc Rivers struggled to get any consistency from that spot.  Marquis Daniels was never really able hit his stride last season after injuring his wrist and Tony Allen‘s inconsistencies were well-known.  Due to Daniels’ inability to stay on the floor, Rivers ultimately settled on Tony Allen.   TA thrived as the de facto back-up wing and was able to establish himself as a force on the defensive end even against the league’s elite wing players (Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James).

This season Allen is gone and Daniels has returned for his second stint with the Green.  While the preseason means very little to most, it meant a lot to Daniels as he was going to have to prove to the Celtics that he was able to embrace the back-up small forward role and fill the void left by a departed Tony Allen.  Luckily for the Celtics, Daniels stepped up to the challenge and put up some very impressive numbers.

Here are Daniels’ totals in 7 preseason games:

  • 174 Minutes
  • 24-of-42 from the field (57% FG%)
  • 31 Rebounds (4 offensive)
  • 11 Assists
  • 5 Steals
  • 2 Blocks
  • 9 Turnovers
  • 17 Personal Fouls
  • 67 Points

The following is Daniels’ production per 40 minutes (assuming my math is correct):

  • 57% Field Goal Percentage
  • 7.13 Rebounds
  • 2.53 Assists
  • 1.15 Steals
  • 0.46 Blocks
  • 2.1 Turnovers
  • 3.9 Personal Fouls
  • 15.4 Points

All of these numbers are close to the league average for small forwards in 2010 (HoopData.com).  The sample size is obviously very small.  This fact stands in the way of making any accurate predictions for the upcoming season.  Still, it’s nice to see Daniels have such a good preseason, statistically.  This, however small, gives hope to the Celtics that at least for the time being they have a reliable back-up wing.

Tuesday brings the real test.  Can this type of production be sustained over the course of the season?  What do you think?  I am hoping for something close.

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