Dyson Daniels logged only 17 minutes of work on Tuesday, but the eighth pick made the most of his time to help the New Orleans Pelicans defeat the Memphis Grizzlies.
Daniels recorded just three points but hauled in a career-high nine rebounds to go along with one assist, one steal and one block in the 113-102 win at home. He also contributed a great defensive effort and finished a season-high plus-13 on the court.
Pelicans coach Willie Green liked his effort off the bench.
He and Herb (Jones) just give you a comfort level when they’re on the floor. He is only 19, but he doesn’t play like it. He has been working. He stays in the gym working on his shot. He understands the game at a high level. We all feel comfortable putting him on the floor, and I’m super excited about what he did tonight and what he’ll continue to do in the future.
The stats by Daniels likely don’t jump off the page, but he seemingly made all of the right plays and gave the team a great boost of energy. Teams often look for players to do the little things on the court and chase the 50-50 balls, which Daniels did.
Daniels showed off his arm strength in the game, too.
Get Dyson Daniels a Saints uniform immediately pic.twitter.com/lb9Baj1y8D
— Will Guillory (@WillGuillory) November 16, 2022
His nine rebounds led the Pelicans, topping the eight by Naji Marshall and seven by Larry Nance Jr. Nance, known as a great rebounder, gave Daniels credit for outrebounding him.
Dyson was huge today. He outrebounded me in 13 less minutes — nine rebounds. Eight (were) defensive, where that is a spot we’re severely lacking. That’s how you find minutes in this league. When you get your chance, you gotta answer the call to whatever the team needs, and Dyson did that perfect today. He hit the offensive glass, defensive glass, guarded his man and got a block. He earned himself some minutes today.
C.J. McCollum took notice that Daniels outrebounded Nance, too.
He just plays hard. He does all of the little things. (He was) plus-13 and great for us down the stretch. He had more rebounds than Larry. Larry has gotta rebound the ball more. I hope he is watching this. He was aggressive, made some great passes and some great plays. Defensively, he was locked in and engaged and showing why he was drafted so high.
The effort by Daniels will likely go a long way in earning more playing time, as Nance alluded to. Daniels was known as a great defender entering the season. He vowed to bring that each time he stepped onto the court, along with whatever else the team needed.
He did just that on Tuesday versus Memphis.
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