Daniel Gibson

mcfly1204 · Post #1 » by **mcfly1204** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 4:13 pm

I have to admit that I was never high on Gibson in the past. He can obviously shoot the ball, has shown flashes of more, but was frequently slowed by injuries.

This season, I really like what I have been seeing from Gibson. Still deadly from behind the arc, has shown a nice shot off the dribble, and has shown he can penetrate and provide some perimeter defense. His confidence seems to be sky high right now, so what is his ceiling? Should he be getting more minutes? Can he ever start as a scoring PG?

Niko23 · Post #2 » by **Niko23** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:29 pm

I think this thread is very deserving. I have been especially hard on Daniel for the last two years, and in my opinion, he deserved it. This year has been night and day. His stroke is better, his handles are much better especially when creating for himself, and his defense has drastically improved. If he makes the same amount of progress next year as he did this year, I would say yes, he can be a starting PG in this league.

FUEGO · Post #3 » by **FUEGO** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 6:25 pm

He's shining cause he's getting that top notch Keisha Cole butt.

JonFromVA · Post #4 » by **JonFromVA** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 7:21 pm

Gibson hasn't been able to make much progress the last couple of years because of his injury problems.

At least he's been able to play through his current finger injury, but I can't imagine it's doing anything to help his ball handling or shooting.

In fact his assists per 36 are at a career low this season and perhaps as a result his A/TO ratio is putrid.

I agree he's doing a number of things better this year, but I think it's all attributable to the fact he can make cuts. Whether he can become even a viable backup PG is still tbd, but he plays an important role for the Cavs because we have LeBron and West.

Post #5 » by **TheOUTLAW** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 10:04 pm

He's been penetrating and looking for his own shot lately rather than finding someone to dish too. Very smart when you have LeBron and Shaq as team mates. Eventually, I think he's going to start getting challenged more often and that should open up a few more things for Shaq around the rim.

Baseline Runner · Post #6 » by **Baseline Runner** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 2:56 am

I've always been neutral on Boobie but this year he's playing excellent. He's picking up a lot of the slack from West.

heathmalc · Post #7 » by **heathmalc** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 2:57 am

Good point OUTLAW!!!

As far as Boobie being a starting PG....yes, he can. However, his problem lies in his decision-making, not in his physical abilities. On defense, he has stopped "jumping" at passes so-much, which has led to less steals, but to more consistent defense.

If his ability to "run" the offense improves, then it becomes possible for the Cavs to trade Mo, as Daniel can easily put up the same numbers in a starting role. In-fact, when he was a rookie, and at the beginning of his 2nd year, when he started some games for us at the point - his numbers weren't too far off then...and he has improved a LOT since then.

Benedict_Boozer · Post #8 » by **Benedict_Boozer** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 2:59 am

Gibson has been very solid this year, I agree. His playmaking still needs some work but alongside a player like Lebron who can create, he is a good fit. Definitely a core piece for us.

mcfly1204 · Post #9 » by **mcfly1204** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 1:48 pm

I almost feel like there has been a plan for Gibson this season. Now that he is finally healthy, maybe all they are asking of him is to score, and not look to do too much. I think there is the possibility of seeing Boobie distribute more as the season goes on, especially depending on what happens with West.

Post #10 » by **TheOUTLAW** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 2:21 pm

What I must emphasize is that Gibson has actually improved his handling markedly. Before this year, he'd been a downright poor dribbler.

mcfly1204 · Post #11 » by **mcfly1204** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 2:28 pm

TheOUTLAW wrote:What I must emphasize is that Gibson has actually improved his handling markedly. Before this year, he'd been a downright poor dribbler.

I agree, for me it was up there with Varejao taking a 15 footer. If he continues to work on his ball handling, I don't see much separating Mo and Boobie. For clarity's sake, I am not trying to hype Gibson up to an unrealistic level, I just feel that his confidence and shooting ability, along with work in the offseason can take him a long way. (This feels so odd to say because I used to be really down on Gibson)

heathmalc · Post #12 » by **heathmalc** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 3:27 pm

Where Gibson's handle has improved is in his ability to now use both hands. He had been a strictly right-handed ball handler, and when he went to his left, he would often lose control and/or get picked very easily. His work in Houston over the summer has helped him dramatically, both with his handle and with his shooting & defense, where he now uses his less dominant hand a lot more than he used to.

He is already a better scorer than Mo...he has been better since he was a rookie! He has also surpassed Mo defensively (which didn't take a lot of work). If Daniel gets his decision-making ability down, and continues to improve his handle, then it is very likely that the Cavaliers will trade Mo next season, or in 2011.

Benedict_Boozer · Post #13 » by **Benedict_Boozer** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:18 pm

The other thing I like about D-Gib is he is getting it done on defense this year also.

FUEGO · Post #14 » by **FUEGO** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:29 pm

WOW I just caught that stupid comment by tony montana about Lebron not being a top 5 lol. yet he put Howard on there that hasn't got MVP of anything

heathmalc · Post #15 » by **heathmalc** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:10 pm

FUEGO wrote:WOW I just caught that stupid comment by tony montana about Lebron not being a top 5 lol. yet he put Howard on there that hasn't got MVP of anything

\Tony Montana don't like LeBron because he refused to give him an interview before last season. If LeBron gave him that interview, then Montana would have ranked LeBron #1....but since he didn't, LeBron isn't top-5 :lol:

JonFromVA · Post #16 » by **JonFromVA** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:27 pm

Wow guys, I'm a big Gibson fan, but if he's starting he's going to see a whole lot more ball pressure and while his defense continues to improve, his assist numbers have fallen off a cliff.

He still has a long ways to go IMO. He's clearly an assert when LeBron is in attack mode, but we can't expect James to dish out 20 apg. He needs to show he can run the second unit, before anyone should give him the keys to the first.

TonyMontana · Post #17 » by **TonyMontana** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:30 pm

FUEGO wrote:WOW I just caught that stupid comment by tony montana about Lebron not being a top 5 lol. yet he put Howard on there that hasn't got MVP of anything

Really?? So your arguing that Lebron won the MVP but then you forget to mention that Lebron lost to Howards Magic in the E/C finals, and the fact that the Magic didnt get swept in the finals like Lebron did against the Spurs. Haaaaaa?

By the way I love the fact that OUTLAW is using my quote for his sig. All he is doing is pointing out the obvious as well as promoting it on every thread he's posting on. I think thats great.

heathmalc wrote:
\Tony Montana don't like LeBron because he refused to give him an interview before last season. If LeBron gave him that interview, then Montana would have ranked LeBron #1....but since he didn't, LeBron isn't top-5

Haaa? Really and which interview was that?

heathmalc · Post #18 » by **heathmalc** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 6:44 pm

TonyMontana wrote:
FUEGO wrote:WOW I just caught that stupid comment by tony montana about Lebron not being a top 5 lol. yet he put Howard on there that hasn't got MVP of anything

Really?? So your arguing that Lebron won the MVP but then you forget to mention that Lebron lost to Howards Magic in the E/C finals, and the fact that the Magic didnt get swept in the finals like Lebron did against the Spurs. Haaaaaa?

By the way I love the fact that OUTLAW is using my quote for his sig. All he is doing is pointing out the obvious as well as promoting it on every thread he's posting on. I think thats great.

heathmalc wrote:
\Tony Montana don't like LeBron because he refused to give him an interview before last season. If LeBron gave him that interview, then Montana would have ranked LeBron #1....but since he didn't, LeBron isn't top-5

Haaa? Really and which interview was that?

oopsss Sorry, I meant Tony Montoya (The Santa Fe New Mexican).... that is who I thought the poster was referring to. Ken (Ken Anthony Montoya....pen name is Tony Montoya)wrote an article about LeBron being a snob, and that he didn't believe LeBron was even in the top-5 in the NBA. I was unaware that you ever said anything like that, and so getting the two of you confused was easy.

However...now that I know you feel that way, I think you should re-evaluate your process of ranking players.

TonyMontana · Post #19 » by **TonyMontana** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 7:20 pm

heathmalc wrote:
However...now that I know you feel that way, I think you should re-evaluate your process of ranking players.

No problem.
Also LOLL really, let me think about it but until then I dont want to derail this thread and get blamed for it. So we'll keep this for the next Lebron vs ? thread. Coool.

JonFromVA · Post #20 » by **JonFromVA** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 7:37 pm

TonyMontana wrote:Really?? So your arguing that Lebron won the MVP but then you forget to mention that Lebron lost to Howards Magic in the E/C finals, and the fact that the Magic didnt get swept in the finals like Lebron did against the Spurs. Haaaaaa?

And the Magic weren't a 50-win team who'd just lost their starting PG before reaching the finals ... in fact they got their starting PG back.

I think a better comparison, would be to examine how LeBron and the Cavs played the Celtics when they were making their title run .vs. how Kobe and the Lakers played them in the finals.

While the Cavs took the Celts down to the wire in a game 7 in Boston as LeBron goes 45/6/5, Kobe shoots just 32% and scores just 22pts as the Lakers got blown out in LA in game 6.

Fact is last years Cavs team was built to beat the Celtics, not the Magic, and the Magic never would have gotten past the Celts if KG was healthy.

This year? I do believe it's Cavs:1, Magic:0