Marquis Daniels experienced some migraine headaches since Boston’s last game, but feels “a whole lot better” now and could play in tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.

I’ve never had migraines myself, but they sound quite awful. (Boston Globe)

“I feel a whole lot better,” Daniels said. “Bad migraines. Darkness, no sound, it was awful. I feel a lot better now. It was the first time I’ve ever had it.”

Though I’ve never personally experienced a migraine headache, I once took advantage of a high school teacher who did. There’s nothing better as a student than having a substitute teacher, so when I learned of one Latin teacher who experienced bad migraines that caused her to miss school for approximately one week out of every month, I instantly signed up for that class.

It was Latin I, meaning I was a senior taking a class with a bunch of freshmen, but I didn’t care. For one week every month, I walked into class and saw a teacher I barely knew and who definitely didn’t know me. I would immediately put my head down on the desk and close my eyes. Shortly later, dreams would take over my brain and a puddle of drool would inevitably form a moat around my mouth. Simply put: Best. Class. Ever.

Not to continue dulling you with stories of my past idiocy, Daniels also discussed his poor shooting. The small forward is shooting 27.1 percent, hasn’t yet made a single 3-pointer and is shooting a mind-boggling 43.8 percent on shots at the rim (compared to 68.0 percent from the same area of the floor last season).

“I just need to get in the gym more, keep working on my shot,” he said. “Just keep trying to get better, regardless of me being ill or whatever. I just need to get my rhythm back, I need to get in here. It’s valuable for me. Those are shots I normally make. They are going to fall.”

Jeff Green underwent heart surgery on Monday that his agent called “100 percent successful.” On Tuesday, Green’s agent told the Boston Globe the Boston Celtics would be on his short list of teams once he’s available to play next season.

“The doctor said he would have an easier return than if he came back from an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament),” Falk said. “We’re not going to give any details other to say the surgery corrected the problem and the next step will be rehab.

“I think Jeff has an important future value to the Celtics. He has a very positive feeling about Boston. I think that it will be one of a short list of teams that he will talk to when the time comes.” …

“Now that he’s unrestricted and he has the legal right to talk to every team, Boston is obviously a team he is very interested in,” Falk said. “We’re going to continue our discussions with an appropriate time with Boston. I don’t think his status is going to change their need for him or his interest in talking with them.”

My thoughts on a Green return all depend on his contract and Boston’s situation. Do I want them to commit to Green as a franchise cornerstone, paying him somewhere between $7-9 million per season for multiple years? No. I don’t think Green’s the kind of player a team should build around, unless said team wants to be mired in mediocrity. But there are situations when signing Green would be a great addition. (Read: the deal the Celtics signed him to this season, which would have overpaid Green for one season to maintain future cap flexibility while adding a versatile backup small forward capable of making plays.)

Really, though, the important thing is that his surgery was a success. Jeff Green should be playing basketball next season, and that’s great news.

It probably should not come as a surprise that Rajon Rondo — who either got cut from or left the USA men’s basketball team that participated in the 2010 World Championships after receiving a DNP under weird circumstances — failed to make the preliminary roster for the team that will compete in the 2012 London Olympics.

But Rondo and all his Celtics teammates were reportedly left off the list. (Sheridan Hoops)

Here it is, alphabetically, from my impeccable international basketball sources:

LaMarcus Aldridge

Carmelo Anthony

Chauncey Billups

Chris Bosh

Kobe Bryant

Tyson Chandler

Kevin Durant

Eric Gordon

Blake Griffin

Dwight Howard

Andre Iguodala

LeBron James

Kevin Love

Lamar Odom

Chris Paul

Derrick Rose

Dwyane Wade

Russell Westbrook

Deron Williams

Again, this isn’t a surprise. Rondo has never made Team USA a priority, and whatever happened prior to the 2010 World Championships — whether he was cut or simply withdrew — pointed to a relationship with the USA basketball program that simply wasn’t working.

Considering the wealth of point guards Team USA has preserved (Chris Paul, Derrick Rose and Deron Williams, all trying out for the same team), Rondo probably would have been a long shot to make the team even if he had been issued an invitation to try out.

I’m just surprised Team USA didn’t invite Greg Stiemsma.

New Boston Celtics wing Mickael Pietrus won’t just play tomorrow against the Dallas Mavericks. He also looked healthy enough during practice that he will not have any minutes restriction. (ESPN)

Celtics coach Doc Rivers said he expects swingman Mickael Pietrus to be in the lineup on Wednesday after a “sensational” day of practice on Tuesday. “He looked great,” said Rivers. “Actually, he had a sensational day. He might have been one of our best players today, so that was good.” Rivers was confident enough in what he saw to suggest that there will not be a minute restriction on Pietrus in his debut.

I don’t know how fresh Pietrus is. His field goal percentage last season (39.2 percent) points out a person who no longer finishes easily in transition. He got run out of town in Phoenix, where director of basketball operations Lon Babby said of Pietrus’ time, “There’s an expression that, ‘All’s well that ends well.’ In this case, all’s well that ends.” He is coming off offseason knee surgery that caused him to fail a physical examination just last month, and he could only participate in practice during the last few days.

But I do know Pietrus can help with one of Boston’s biggest weaknesses: the Celtics’ primary backup wings, Avery Bradley and Marquis Daniels, have combined for one (ONE!!!) made 3-pointer during the team’s first eight games. The Celtics need a sub who can spot up on the perimeter and drill shots, and the Frenchman can do that.

P.S. – Daniels is likely out tomorrow with an illness. For better or worse, we should see a lot of Pietrus.

The Boston Celtics withdrew Jeff Green’s qualifying offer, making the young hybrid forward an unrestricted free agent who could theoretically be signed right now by any NBA team, but likely won’t considering he’s having heart surgery two days from now on Jan. 9.

That’s because the Boston Celtics, in a move that was not made public, withdrew Green’s qualifying offer in mid-December, right around the time he failed his physical and had his one-year, $9 million contract voided. The move means Green is now an unrestricted free agent. Had the offer not been withdrawn, and the Celtics were under no obligation whatsoever to do so, Green would have been a restricted free agent, with the Celtics able to match any offer he might get from another team. …

From the Celtics’ point of view, the withdrawal of the qualifying offer is a bit of a gamble in that it could lead to the departure of the most significant piece of February’s trade that sent Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City. That would leave the Celtics with nothing to show from the deal, save for a first-round draft pick that belongs to the Clippers and is protected over the next few years.

Then again, Green’s NBA future, at present, is murky. And the change in his free-agent status puts Green in the same contractual position he would have been in had he been able to play out this season. Both sides knew that not only would Green be an unrestricted free agent next summer by taking the one-year offer, they also knew he could not be traded without his permission.

Also, the Celtics will still be able to offer Green a longer, more lucrative deal than any other team, either to re-sign him or sign him as part of a sign-and-trade deal, which is what they did last month with Glen Davis.

ESPN’s Peter May noted that it may have been “nothing more than a goodwill gesture,” but I can’t imagine Danny Ainge giving even his own brother or sister a goodwill gesture if he thought it would hurt the Boston Celtics. The move was more likely done for the following reason:

Falk added that the new collective bargaining agreement rules also may have played a part in the Celtics’ thinking as well.

I’m not yet an expert on the new collective bargaining agreement, but I imagine that withdrawing the qualifying offer lessens the salary cap hold the Celtics will have as long as Green remains a free agent. That would give them more flexibility during the free agency period, while their abundance of cap space should assure that the team can still sign Green should it choose to do so. It’s a risk, yes, that Green could leave and not give Boston a chance to match an offer he receives elsewhere, but the Celtics are likely willing to take that risk in exchange for greater flexibility during the summer of 2012.

The Celtics will enter this summer with just $30.5 million on the books (it could be $34.5 million if Brandon Bass decides to exercise a player option for next season, which is unlikely) and Danny Ainge — that wily old badger — will have significant cap space to work with for the first time in years. He doesn’t necessarily have to use it all next year — after Dwight Howard and Deron Williams, the free agent pickings are slim — but he will have options aplenty.

P.S. — This is probably a cold business decision, but it is not a cold business decision that will harm Jeff Green. Green is better off as an unrestricted free agent.

P.P.S. — Green is having heart surgery in two days. Keep him in your thoughts and/or prayers.

Artistry.

(h/t @MrTrpleDouble10 and Red’s Army)