Marquis Daniels and The Dubious Value of Historical Precedent

I was a history major in college. I have a law degree, and in the law, precedent usually carries the day. This blog is heavily into Celtics history. But if history has a place in various aspects of society, it's value can be overstated, too. Let me explain.

The Celtics drafted Michael Smith in 1989. I was fired up. Red Auerbach compared him to Larry Bird. Smith came to camp out of shape and proceeded to get hurt immediately. He fell behind, and it took him forever to get caught up. Thereafter, any time a Celtics rookie got hurt early in his first season, I was done with him. I was done with Glen Davis before he ever suited up because he got hurt in the pre-draft tryouts.

Continuing the injury theme, I've always been an admirer of Tony Allen's undeniable skills. I've compared his defensive abilities to Deion Sanders. I'm not TA Crazy, like some fans who remember his stellar play before blowing out his knee earlier in his career. But I've always been solid in his corner. Because he gets injured so often, however, I've basically written him off as a possible contributor. I then applied the Tony Allen precedent to Marquis Daniels. Pacers fans warned us. They said Daniels gets hurt a lot. Don't expect him to stay healthy. I kept an open mind, but, sure enough, he got hurt and missed a boatload of games. My response was to dismiss him as a contributor the rest of the season.

You see where I'm going. Watching MD play just a few minutes today demonstrated to even the basetball-challenged that he is a multi-skilled player who, if healthy, could drastically increase this team's chances of winning a championship. Remember earlier in the season when the Celtics bench was outscoring the starters? Do you think it was a coincidence that this happened when MD was healthy?

I realize that the Celtics will need a lot of luck for everyone to get healthy, stay healthy, and get on the same page. But history really will have nothing to do with how far they get.