Marquis Daniels Quiet As Of Late

Earlier this season people all around Celtics nation were talking about how much of a steal Marquis Daniels was. We were saying that signing Quis was quietly one of the best off-season moves made this past off-season. We all thought we knew what Quis brought to the team, but really he brought a whole lot more than we expected.

At the beginning of the season Quis was on a roll, he put up 17 points in back to back preseason games and was doing all the little things that we love to see a Celtic do. The regular season started up and Marquis started to settle into his role of around 20-25 minutes a game. Through the first seven games of the regular season Daniels averaged around seven points and 2.5 assist per game.

As of late we have started to see a slight decrease in Marquis’s production. In the past nine games Daniels has averaged 4.4 points and 2.2 assists per game, including a scoreless effort in a blowout win against Oklahoma City. This is not a dramatic decrease but a big enough one to question why his production has gone down.

One easy thing to point fingers at is his recent hand injury, which we believe he suffered in the Indiana game. Since that game Marquis has been taping his hand for every game and practice. Could this have an effect on his game? Of course it could, but Marquis wants us to believe it isn’t effecting his game. I tweeted Marquis earlier this week before the San Antonio game wishing him good luck and telling him I hope his hand gets better. Like he has said multiple times he replied by saying, “thanx, im a play thru it”.

I really like the fact that Marquis is willing to play through pain to help out his team, but if this is something serious I really think he should seek more medical attention. I would hate to see this be something serious enough that it would effect his game later in the year.

The hand injury may or may not be the reason for his decrease in production lately, but it is the easiest thing to point fingers at. Since injuring his hand in the game against Indiana, Marquis has only scored above six points in one game. He has also as of late started to take on a bigger role as the teams backup point guard, as a result his focus on controlling the team’s offense may also be a reason why his scoring numbers are down.

I have no doubt in my mind that Marquis will eventually turn it around and be back to the player we saw earlier this season. He is a great asset to our team, and even when he isn’t scoring he is still helping out the team with his defensive effort and great court awareness.

As for now, I’ll leave it up to you to decide why Marquis is struggling as of late. Do you think it is his hand or another factor? Let us know by dropping a comment, we enjoy the feedback from our readers.

Photos by Bizuayehu Tesfaye – AP and Chris Covatta/NBAE via Getty Images