Celtics coach Doc Rivers had an Eddie House conundrum during the past two years.
On one hand, he needed him on the floor because of his infectious energy and shooting ability. On the other, there were times when Rivers couldn't play one of the best gunners in the NBA because of concerns about House's ability to handle pressure in the backcourt and defend bigger guards.
The backup point guard to start the season, House's role come playoff time became an annual dilemma that tested the coach and often frustrated the player.
Now the Celtics believe they have found the solution and that solution's name is Marquis Daniels. At 6-foot-6, with the ability to handle the ball like a point guard, Daniels allows House to focus on his shooting and general havoc-wreaking ability. The way House stretches the floor then opens things up for Daniels to work the paint against a defense that can't take the risk of collapsing off the perimeter.
The combination, along with the addition of Rasheed Wallace to the frontcourt, is a major reason why the Celtics have gone from having one of the thinnest reserve corps out of last year's playoff teams to likely one of the best heading into this season.
"We have some sets that I think Marquis will flourish in and those are the same sets I flourish in," said House. "So with him and the addition of Rasheed, I think we're going to be all right. You've also got Baby (Glen Davis). On any given night, you have four guys where one of the guys could come in and give you 20 (points)."
At the end of last season, only House provided that possibility. With Davis thrust into the starting lineup due to season-ending injuries to Kevin Garnett and Leon Powe, and half the roster deemed either too inexperienced or too ineffective to log playoff minutes, the bench rotation was House, Brian Scalabrine and Stephon Marbury. The starters couldn't get off the floor and Rivers felt like he was taking a chance every time he made a substitution.
Even coming off a regular season in which he broke Danny Ainge's club record for 3-point accuracy (44.4 percent), playing House extensively presented its own risks. Invariably, teams would go to fullcourt pressure and postups on the 6-foot-1 guard and Rivers would have to balance the desire for House's shots with the need to get Rajon Rondo back on the floor as quickly as possible.
This year, the coach is hoping that's finally all changed.
"The last couple of years we've gone out and gotten another guard during the year because of that," Rivers admitted. "There was coach (Sam) Cassell (two years ago). Then the next year we got Stephon. Hopefully, this year we're not going to have to do that because we have Marquis back there with Eddie."
The early returns on the new combo have been very favorable. In the intra-squad scrimmage at Salve Regina University last Saturday night, they switched off bringing the ball up the floor and House drained 3-pointers from all corners of the arc. Through two preseason games, he is a plus-17 in scoring differential. Against Houston on Wednesday, he benefited from Daniels' drive-and-dish ability. Friday night against the Knicks, House dished out five assists while pushing the pace at the point.
House, who has often bristled at questions about whether he could play the pure point, is hoping that teaming with Daniels will finally make those questions moot.
"We both complement each other well," he stated. "At times, when we come down, and he might have a guy he feels he can take advantage of, I can bring it up and we can get him the ball in the post. Then there are plays where I can come off a screen and look for my shot because he handles the ball. We needed a guy like him."
Rivers said he likes the way the pair have divided the ball-handling chores thus far.
"The tough part about our practices is that Rondo guards Eddie," he noted. "It's turning out now, maybe for the better, that Marquis handles the ball about 90 percent of the time because Eddie doesn't want to have to bring it up against Rondo. That's smart on his part. But in the games, when he's not facing a Rondo who's going to pick him up full court, we figure it will be about 70/30 with Marquis handling it 70 percent of the time and Eddie 30 percent."
House said he isn't worried about percentages.
"It doesn't even matter," he shrugged. "It's whoever gets the rebound. We just don't want to slow down our offense. If someone has to come back for the ball all the time, it's slowing down what we want to do. We want to get the ball and go."
"It's just kind of the way it works out," Daniels agreed. "If I can get in there and get the rebound with my size, he can be running with his speed, and it's just going to open things up.
"With me handling the ball, it gets him off the ball and gets his rhythm going. I can take a lot of pressure off him by getting him in his sweet spots. Eddie can shoot the ball from anywhere the minute he steps in the gym anyway."
After a second straight season in Boston when his strengths were celebrated and his weaknesses often exposed and criticized, House had a chance to move on this summer. But hours before the deadline to opt out of the second year of the two-year, $6 million deal he signed last summer, the 31-year-old decided to stick around for a third season.
Though it's unclear whether he could have gotten a better deal elsewhere, he insisted there were greater factors in his desire to return.
"We had unfinished business," he said. "There was a nasty taste in my mouth from last year. I didn't want to leave like that.
"Of course, I had the opportunity where I could have went some other places. But I love it out here. I love playing here. I love playing for this organization."
Chances are, he is going to love it even more now that he's paired with Daniels.
(Scott Souza is a Daily News staff writer. He can be reached at 781-398-8006 or ssouza@cnc.com. For updates and analysis, check out the new home of the Courtside View blog at blogs.wickedlocal.com/Celtics/.)
