NLEX import KJ McDaniels will likely come out with a chip on his shoulder once action in the PBA Governors’ Cup resumes.
McDaniels struggled in his last game before the league went on an indefinite break due to the COVID-19 surge, posting just 12 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and one block in the Road Warriors’ 102-93 loss to the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters last Dec. 25.
It was a Christmas Day to remember for McDaniels, who averaged 33.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 2.0 blocks in the first four games that saw NLEX go a perfect 4-0.
“It’s just a bad game,” NLEX coach Yeng Guiao told the team’s official site recently.
It didn’t help that the Road Warriors as a whole struggled in that contest, adding to Guiao’s disappointment since Phoenix played majority of the game with an all-Filipino lineup due to the injury of import Paul Harris.
“We were disappointed with the way our import played, but our local players didn’t play good as well, so that contributed to the loss.” he said. “But there are a lot of things you can do in 30 minutes of playing time and we felt that he wasn’t able to do enough in the playing time given to him
“That’s probably the worst game of his career," concluded Guiao, who is right if statistics are the basis.
McDaniels’ scoring output along with his shooting percentage which was a 4-of-15 clip were the lowest in his PBA foray.
The former NBA cager was held to 18 points while playing for TNT in the 2019 Governors’ Cup semifinals against Meralco which actually resulted in a 101-97 win.