First of all, I don't agree that Daniels is appreciatively better than TA at cutting to the hoop. Where he differentiates himself from TA is his control and decision-making with the ball in his hands.
Right... so he's better cutting to the hoop. You can have a great first step, good body control, the ability to jump out of the gym - all of which TA has - but it doesn't mean a thing if you dribble the ball off your foot out of bounds or get called for charging. Can't spell Tony without 'TO'.
That brings us to the whole issue of usage. In such a low-usage role Daniels is not bringing much more than TA. He's an equally poor shooter so he isn't hitting from long range and spacing the floor, nor is he especially big and athletic, setting screens or grabbing boards that TA couldn't. Nor are his intangibles noticably elevating the play of his mates. House and Wallace are both struggling.
The shooting struggles of Eddie and Sheed aren't Quis's fault - they're just missing shots. His job is to penetrate and get them open shots... which he's doing. He can't make the shots for them.
The bench needs Daniels to be higher usage. It would be one thing if he was taking a backseat to more capable teammates. But that's not the case. He's the best passer and only slasher of the bench bunch. Right now an enormous % of bench possessions are consumed by Sheed, one of the lowest % shooters on the team.
I agree with this, in the sense that most possessions in the second unit should either start with Quis or whichever starter is in with them - frequently Ray, it seems. It seems like the offense has a tendency to stick Marquis in the corner sometimes. He's not useful over there, can't shoot and therefore isn't respected by the opposing defense. He works best with the ball in his hands or in the post against smaller guards.
If TA produces at last year's levels his net impact would be comparable to what Daniels is giving us right now. Daniels is doing very little, and doing even less wrong. Meanwhile Sheed is doing much more than he should. If TA comes in and does a lot, good and bad, Sheed will do less, and the bench will probably fare the same. The blame will just shift somewhat from Sheed to TA.
I don't want Sheed to do less. I want Sheed to make his shots and play more in the post where he can score on anybody in the league. Meanwhile, I don't want TA to come in and do more. I want Marquis to stay in and do more.
It would be one thing if TA would have good games and bad games. You could throw him in at the end of the first quarter of every game. If he was good TA, let him play; if he was bad TA, yank him. TA's not like that - he'll make a brilliant play one possession and then pay it back with interest fifteen seconds later.
Topic: Marquis out Tuesday, Tony in? (Read 24980 times)