Midway Through Season, Where’s Boobie?
January 15th, 2010 | by Ward Peterson |The Cavaliers have hit the midway point of the 2009/2010 season and it appears that coach Mike Brown is getting closer to a rotation that he feels comfortable with. Anderson Varejao is locked in as the first man off the bench, Shaq and ‘Z’ form the two-headed monster at center, and Mo Williams and Delonte seem to be set into a variety of roles that include playing the point, and shooting guard. Then there is a mix of JJ Hickson, Jamario Moon, Anthony Parker, and now Jawad Williams, depending on the lineup the Cavs face at any given time. Last and not least of course, there is LeBron who plays the role of…..well, LeBron….throughout the game. One player who is conspicuous in his absence, particularly during this West Coast trip, is Daniel “Boobie” Gibson. In fact, now in his fourth NBA season, Gibson is on pace to average the fewest number of minutes per game since his rookie season in 2006/2007.
After having a chance to watch the NBA game for the first month of his career, Gibson started getting tangible minutes in December of his first season, and played double-digit minutes for the rest of that season until an injury sidelined him later in the year. He then thrust himself into the national spotlight, and into hearts of Cavs fans, during that season’s playoff run when in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals, he had 21 points against the arch-rival Pistons. Then two games later, he seemed to solidify himself as a future star for the Cavs, with 31 points in a series clinching Game 6 to help advance the Cavaliers in the playoffs. Now with his star seemingly ready to be embossed in gold, the one we know as Boobie, seemed ready to carve out a great career as a Cavalier. He played a significant role the next two seasons and heading into this season, it was expected that Gibson would provide a mercinary-like scoring punch off the bench for the Cavs. Heck, he even had his own bobblehead night last year!
For some reason though, the 2009/2010 season has not been one where Gibson has been an integral part of the rotation. Instead, it has become more like a disappearing act. So far in the month of January, Gibson has had double-digit minutes twice. He also has been deactivated twice, and didn’t see the floor for one of the games he was active. In fact, when you consider that the Cavaliers have been without Jamario Moon for this entire road trip, thus making the Cavaliers already short-handed, Gibson being deactivated raises even more of a question. One has to wonder what has caused Gibson’s sudden fall from grace as a Cavalier.
One reason could be the fact that, as a point guard, Gibson isn’t a sure enough ball handler to run the team at the point. Instead, it’s Mo Williams and Delonte West who split minutes at the point guard position. That leaves only the role of shooting guard for Gibson. As the name states, a shooting guard is more like a hired gun in an NBA offense. If that’s the case, Gibson’s January shooting average of .250 could be a major factor. It’s tough to have a “hired gun” on the floor when that shooter misses his target three out of four times.
Whatever the reason, if we don’t start seeing Daniel Gibson getting some tangible minutes some time soon, the 2009/2010 season could be one where his primary role is that of a bench warmer, or it could even be a season where Gibson is moved via trade if the Cavaliers do make a move to add one other solid player before the trading deadline. A former second-round pick, Gibson does have value and the fact that he has shown that he can be a valuable bench player when he finds his shot, might make Gibson a player who would generate some interest in a potential trade partner of the Cavaliers. Gibson’s salary of just over $2M is also a relative bargain in today’s NBA, which makes him even more enticing to a team looking to dump salary along with one of their stars.
The next few weeks could possibly give us a clear indication of whether or not Daniel “Boobie” Gibson is going to be a factor this season and into the future, or if the glory days of Boobie as a Cavaliers are a thing of the past.
Tags: Daniel Gibson
