"I was still staying relatively fit and kind of finding it hard to sit still," he says, adding he frequents a couple of gyms as well.
The Port Ahuriri School teacher notes an "interesting spread of personalities, characteristics and skills" in the Hawks this season with more older players and a couple in their mid-20s punctuating a young crop.
However, the collective chemistry is good among the group, who lost their first game 89-74, against last season's grand finalists, Wellington Saints, in Napier last Sunday.
"They were a side stacked with seven players from the Aussie NBL [ANBL] but there were a few things that worked for us and a few that didn't but that's all part of the process," says Daly who sported facial hair growth of biblical proportions last Sunday but has trimmed it back since.
The environment, he says, with the new franchise and board is good and the near-capacity gold-coin turnout at the PG Arena in Taradale also had lifted the team's spirits.
"Hopefully it'll continue now with the gold-coin entry throughout the season," he says of the franchise's sponsorship deal as Bay apple producers Taylor Corporations this week agreed to underwrite the cost of game admission.
Says corporation owner Kelvin Taylor: "We want to help bring the community together by making the games accessible to as many people as possible."
It helps that Daly and Daly-Taylor have been operating "at the same level with generally the same philosophy".
"There is the odd time when we might disagree with something but it's not over the top because we'll look at how it can be rectified to suit the personnel we've got and who we're obviously playing," he says, revealing the game plan against the Giants will differ markedly from what they adopted against the Saints.
For instance, the athleticism of Saints will give way to the methodical and rigorous structural approach of the Giants.
It's not a new concept working with his sister, who was coach in 2003 when Keith Mair jetted off to fulfil a coaching role in England.
"She was assistant for a few years with Shawn [Dennis] and Paulie [Paul Henare] so it's a growing general basketball relationship where we've shared similar ideals concerned and how we want to play."
They are a decade apart in growing up so she was away for a good time through university and playing professional basketball overseas.
"Everything is fine now as long as I'm buying into everything she wants to do and putting it on the court," he says, emphasising it's no different to what other players are doing to enhance the culture and philosophy of the Hawks.
The first quarter against the Saints had left the Hawks upbeat about their ability "to run with these guys".
"We can pretty much do things against teams who have a budget of say $350,000 for the year compared to our $70,000 or whatever it is."
The siblings aren't laid-back or relaxed but, as he prefers to call it, "semi-relaxed" in their approach rather than over-emphasising things.
His rapport with Porter is equally productive and uplifting.
"CP is good. In the entire time I've been playing it's the first time an import has been here from the very beginning to see things from the word go."
Veteran Porter's NBA experience and history leads to that.
"He leads by example, by voice and just tries to make guys come around so we have a really good relationship," he says, stressing that camaraderie is apparent on and off the court.
Daly hears last season's Hawk and Tall Blacks point guard, Jarrod Kenny, won't play because of the stand-down period to enable him and fellow Perth Wildcats to recuperate after their ANBL title-winning campaign this month.
"They've got some solid players who can run all the way and those who can shoot, so Nelson's always been a bit of a foe of ours, always competitive because they are similar in cities, similar in teams," he says with Raymond Cowells again expected to conduct court offensively for the visitors.
With Wellington's athleticism came the slashing, cutting and movement off the ball as well as the deposits from downtown.
"With Nelson it'll be more out there and creating situations where we want them to put the ball on the floor and drive a bit more before taking medium-range shots."
Daly juxtaposes the Saints and Giants' traits with American college teams, likening the former with Kentucky or North Carolina while drawing parallels between the latter and Princeton in the way they run.
Consequently the Hawks, he feels, will have to employ different defensive principles in countering the Giants tomorrow.
While the Saints match statistics showed why "basketball can be a funny game", Daly agrees ball movement was a big thing for the guards to shift defences to provide their foragers open shots.
Impotent shots often result in poor offensive transitions and rebounds so it is imperative they not rush in finding love from the temperamental rims.
With the Saints scoring more than 100 points against James Blond Super City Rangers, the Hawks are happy to have kept Wellington in the 80s.
"Our shooting percentages were a little bit lower but most of the shots that were taken were good," he says, feeling most shots he had taken had come from open and clear spaces.
Daly suspects so did Porter, last Sunday's top scorer for Hawks, who will be up against fellow American centre Ben Strong, who came one rebound shy of nailing a double-double with 25 points against the Sharks.
The Giants are fourth in the seven-team league with one win from two games after ending the SIT Zerofees Southland Sharks' 16-game unbeaten run last week.
However, "little things" from the Hawks, says Daly, such as shooting in the 80-plus per cent range from the charity line, over time will start having an impact on their games.
The Hawks are in the hunt for their second NBL crown after the franchise won the maiden one under Dennis in 2006.
