Marquis Daniels passed along the following message via his Twitter account:
Thanx 4 everyones prayers my surgery went well, I'll be back better than before I had been, I'd like to say thanks to all dat prayed 4me
Upon hearing the news that the Celtics swingman was going to miss 6-8 weeks after having surgery to repair a torn thumb ligament, my initial reaction was - "Surgery? I thought it was a sore thumb?"
My second reaction was - "Aww sh!t, this means Tony Allen is going to get more time."
Even though Daniels was underachieving a bit (20 mpg, 5.7 ppg, 2 rpg, 2 apg), he's a vital role player off the bench. Because of his versatility, Doc can't just plug one guy into his role.
Here's how I see this injury affecting other guys:
Tony Allen - He's the first choice to get more minutes. He can spell both Ray and Paul and in case of emergency, he can dribble the ball up court with his knuckles and run the point. Defensively, especially in man-to-man situations, Tony is an upgrade over Daniels. However, while Marquis was a steady player, Allen has ups-and-downs like no other.
Eddie House - He'll have to play more time at the point and this could affect his shot. The luxury of Daniels is his ability to bring the ball up the court, and set up the offense. Often time, he would penetrate and kick the ball out to Eddie on the wing. Expect to see more teams pressure Eddie, and this could slow down the plays. Doc may squeeze more minutes out of Rondo and pair him with House.
Lester Hudson/J.R. Giddens - If Allen is a disaster, Doc could turn to either one of these guys.
Brian Scalabrine - He might get a few more minutes at small forward.
Paul Pierce/Ray Allen - More minutes for both. Ugh.
While this injury isn't a big deal in the grand scheme of winning a title, it will put a ripple in their recent streak of great play. Quis was just settling in, getting familiar to sets and his teammates. And they were doing the same with him.
