Can Marquis Daniels stay healthy and be a steady contributor?
If he can stay on the floor, Daniels will benefit mightily this season from having a defined role. No longer will he be asked to run the offense as a backup point guard (due to the lack of any other serviceable option) and it’s also unlikely he’ll spend too much time backing up Ray Allen at the 2 (the addition of Delonte West ensures that). So Daniels is free to focus on being Pierce’s primary backup with an emphasis on bringing the sort of lockdown defense that (1) he was regarded as bringing early in the 2009-10 season and (2) Tony Allen ultimately brought late in the year, relegating Daniels to the end of the rotation (Allen was a free agent after the season and signed with the Grizzlies). “It didn’t work out for [Daniels last year] and Tony got the minutes there,” admitted Ainge. “Tony earned the minutes there, but coming out of training camp, Marquis had them. Marquis outplayed all of our bench through October, November and into December until his [thumb] injury. “We know what Mar
