Our Deepest Fear is Not the We Are Inadequate
By Cody Norman
I spend a lot of time on the Cleveland Cavaliers official website. Even when there’s nothing going on at particular points during the offseason – like, say, now – so I read the same columns over and over again just because I can. Most of the time, I enjoy checking out the forums and reading up on what fans (and haters) across the world think about our team.
However, what I don’t enjoy is reading thread after thread from people who believe they have worked out a trade on the Trade Machine that could make our Cavaliers better. But, in all reality, there is no trade that is going to be able to push Cleveland over the top. It’s just not going to happen. Any top draft picks and/or stars would me much too costly for the team at this point and would probably require a whole lot of pieces that Chris Grant just does not have at this point.
It’s time to focus our attention on what we do have. And somewhere, buried under all of that distaste for our former King, there’s a Cavalier Fanatic that believes this team can still compete this season. I’m not claiming that we have what it takes to win a championship right now because, as optimistic as I am, I don’t even believe that. But the Cavs have some very steady pieces that, if they work together, could finish the regular season in the top eight in the Eastern Conference. (For those of you that don’t follow me, that means they’ll make the playoffs).
So I am going to take the next couple weeks to break down our current team so that, by the end of this series, maybe we can all see just how dangerous this team can be.
Remember: We’re Clevelanders. There is no counting us out!
So without further ado, let’s take a look at #1 Daniel Gibson.
Daniel Gibson – Guard (6’ 2”, 200)
Gibson Over his four year professional career, Boobie Gibson has tossed in an astonishing 1.4 points per game. I say that jokingly. But, seriously. 1.4 points per game is astonishing to me because it certainly does not even begin to highlight the true capabilities of this guy.
He’s a three point shooting machine as he knocked down about 48% of his deep range attempts last season. He has been a bit of a liability on the defensive end of the floor and, in my opinion, has seen limited actio
n because of it. However, Coach Byron Scott seems to see a lot of potential in the Boobie Man. (Calling him “Boobie” and proceeding to laugh at myself never gets old).
I expect to see a lot more Boobie Gibson this season. And I expect the24 Texas alum to impress us all by averaging double digits in the scoring column in about 25 minutes a night throughout this season. Call me crazy but mark my words: Boobie Gibson will average over 10 points a night in Byron Scott’s system this season.
Outside of his lack of defensive ability, the only other question mark beside Gibson’s name is his inefficiency from the point guard position. He’s an outstanding shooter; we know that. But he has struggled to handle the ball and, at six feet-two inches, is rather small to be running the two guard. I think he, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, may have found an answer for that concern though. And that answer comes in the form of Coach Scott. Scott runs a very up-tempo, fast paced offense in which open three point attempts will come in bunches. Boobie won’t need to take on the burden of traditional point guard duties in such a system and will get a lot of good, clean looks at the bucket this season.
And, aside from all that, I am really looking forward to seeing what kind of crazy designs the guy can shave into his head season.
Things to Look For:
-Three pointers galore
-Improved on-the-ball defense
– Crazy hair designs
Keep the good in mind, ladies and gentlemen. Boobie is just one key piece to another succesful season in the franchise’s 41st year. Until next time knuckleheads!