While We’re Waiting…Still Waiting for an Explanation, Cavs Win, Clarrett Somber
October 28, 2010Looking Back: Grover’s Playoff Shortcomings
October 28, 2010
Not every bench player gets to miss his first eight shots yet still earn fourth quarter minutes. But such was the case with Daniel Gibson during an epic opening night for the New Expression Cavaliers.
Often passed over due to his lack of size and occasional inconsistency under Mike Brown, Gibson had one of his most memorable nights since scoring 31 points in Game 6 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. Starting off on a rocky note, the man affectionately known as “Boobie” would flourish in the end by sinking four clutch free throws in the final seconds of Wednesday night’s 95-87 win over the Boston Celtics.
“Pops always told me to have a short memory if you want to be a great shooter,” said Gibson.
And a short memory he had, finishing the night by draining four of his final six shots – two of which were three-pointers – and finishing with 16 points, eight assists and a game-high point differential of +11. It was Gibson’s constant hustle and contributions elsewhere that kept him in the game despite an 0-for-8 start, but having a few other variables go his way also helped provide a huge second half that included a flawless 6-6 from the free throw line.
For starters, the Cavaliers were without starting point guard Mo Williams, forcing Byron Scott to use a three-guard rotation with starters Ramon Sessions and Anthony Parker. In addition, Boston head coach Doc Rivers opted to use the 5-foot-9-inch Nate Robinson at shooting guard for a solid second-half stretch, allowing Gibson to find his groove – something that may have been short-lived had the considerably taller Ray Allen been on the floor.
“He’s been great all preseason and all training camp,” said Byron Scott. “I knew he wasn’t going to lose confidence in himself. I think everyone was a little nervous and excited. We came back in the second half and did a heck of a job.”
“When they did go to a smaller lineup, it allowed me to use all three of our guards,” said Scott. “We had some different lineups tonight and they all worked out pretty good.”
Regardless of how it came to fruition, Gibson did find his shot, putting up a second-half eFG% of .833, picking up right where he left off after a solid preseason under his new head coach. But how much does said new head coach factor into Gibson as a player as well as this evening? Would Brown have allowed any player – not to mention one that barely cracks the 6-foot mark – to miss eight straight shots; five straight three-pointers?
“It means everything [to me,” said Gibson. “His experience, playing the game before, he has probably had an 0-for-9 start to a game and maybe finished a game scoring baskets. He understands what it’s all about and it’s a pleasure having him coach me.
He gives me a lot of confidence. When you’re confident out there is when you have no fear and that’s when you play the game.”
Brown was often criticized for not having played in the NBA, something that may not have sat well with some players when he would make in-game decisions. As pointed out several weeks ago, Scott’s praise of Gibson is a lot more than mere posturing. Not one to have much of a size bias, Byron Scott’s willingness to let Gibson play his game rather than trying to shove the proverbial square peg into the round hole speaks volumes, if through only one official regular game.
In return, Gibson continues to heap praise on his head coach as someone who gets the game, and more importantly, gets him as a player.
“From day one, he said he was in my corner, had faith in me and believed what I can do,” said Gibson.
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(Photo: Scott Sargent/WFNY)
25 Comments
I’ll be honest I was pretty down on Boobie in the fourth quarter after he went 0-8…good thing Byron Scott is a much smart human being than me. Good to see him get going and pretty much ice the game….I’d love for guys like Boobie and Mo get a lot of shots to start out the year to hopefully get some confidence and consistency going.
Having to listen to the game on the radio I got real annoyed with Mike Snyder(?) calling him Daniel Gibson… It made me miss Austin Carr screaming “Boobie for three, it’s good. Deep in the Quicken Loans Arena” but sounding like “BOOBIEFOTHREE!,AHHHITSGOOD!DEEPINTHEQUICKENLOANSARENA”
Its almost as if Scott might try to create a “Cavaliers Game Plan” that other opponents will have to compensate for. And then we can make in-game substitutions to compensate for their gameplan. THAT SOUNDS A LITTLE TOO MUCH LIKE ACTUAL COACHING.
Can’t we just go back to relying on one guy and making sure we have taller players on the court, because taller=defense.
Let me play Devils Advocate for a minute….
Does anyone think that if Lebron stayed he would have bought into this system? I think this team is better served without him at this point…with the distribution of the ball and multiple scorers Lebron would have been the weak link.
@stin
I think #6 would like to play for a former player like Scott, I think #6 would love to get out and run with these players rather than waiting for Z or Shaq-tastic to waddle up court… But we’ll never know.
“Does anyone think that if Lebron stayed he would have bought into this system?”
Gauging from what I know of Coach Scott thus far, he wouldn’t have had a choice. There’s a reason he and Jason Kidd didn’t get along – Scott doesn’t cater to players; he has a system and he plugs in the players that will best fit such. It’s why Chris Grant went out to get Ramon Sessions, its why Gibson is getting such love.
I wrote yesterday that regardless of what happens this year, having Dan Gilbert and Byron Scott at the top already gives this team a leg up for the future and I firmly believe this.
MyBOLD prediction for trade deadline,
#6 will request to be traded back to Cleveland after a change of heart (lol)
Will the Cavs win 60 this year? Probably not. Will they play well with Byron Scott forming an actual game plan? Absolutely.
Now that LeBron is out of the picture, we’re actually going to get the opportunity to see how good this “collection of nobodies” really is. This group has a lot of talent that was simply overshadowed by LeBron.
Do I expect them to be world-beaters? Not really. However, I think we as a fanbase should expect playoffs and possibly a first round win if they finish higher than the 8 seed. Also, after watching a video of the player introductions, it was great to hear the ovation for Andy V. Aside from the level of talent, I think this team has plenty of personality to keep the fans engaged.
@Matty – Honestly I feel like one of those three is going to want out at some point. I know it’s only been 2 games but from the things I’ve read about behind the scenes stuff from Woj I think
a)Lebron will feel like he’s being slighted if his every request isn’t granted without so much as a blink.
b)These other guys are going to resent him for being an uber Diva.
c)Bosh will really hate playing the 5 and hate being torched and battered by guys like Shaq and Howard and he’ll realized he’s playing third fiddle to ‘bron and Wade and want out.
Long story short I don’t think that’s too out of the question. Maybe not this year but in the future…and probably not to cleveland haha.
As much as I hate to obsess about Lebron, the changes to the Heat and the Cavs should show us a lot about basketball. From a very small sample, it seems like we’ve underscored what we suspected – the best player in the world on a star-oriented team will have trouble winning under normal circumstances if he does not regularly conform to a system.
LeBron is the best player in the world, and is devastating in isolation. But aside from the last couple minutes of the game, even dominance has to come within the flow of a system. When two teams run the same system, the one with the physical advantage will win 100% of the time. Looking back, it seems like LeBron was reluctant to yield the control of the game from his own dominance to a system. So they’d start the game with a lot of motion, screens, moving off the ball, etc. but after a few minutes, LeBron would take the game and put it on his own shoulders. He was good enough to carry them to lots of wins, but in the end, beating the best teams 4/7 was too much.
We see the same thing with the Heat. If Lebron actively tries to carry them night in and night out, he can turn even Dwyane Wade into a spot up shooter. Even worse (better for us) he and Wade have the same game in the halfcourt, and there’s still only one ball. Bosh may have a nice mid-range jumper, but that’s all he’ll ever have if LeBron continues to be the point man for the Heat offense.
Meanwhile, the Cavs (who are NOT better off without LeBron) have a chance to maximize all of their various skills that we rarely had a chance to see. It seems like Booby has a decent handle. JJ really does seem to have gotten better. Twan looked good taking the ball to the hoop (er, foul line, from where he shoots lay-ups.) They did not look wholly comfortable yet in the offense, and they’ve already beaten the best. Here’s to a better season than we thought!
lol, the Cleveland thing was kind of a joke.. Kind of. I think eventually he will realize what a good thing he had here. But that doesn’t mean he’d attempt to come back, and I guarantee Gilbert would send that trade request back with a big “HAHA, LMFOA” in Comic Sans.
btw, Chris Bosh IS third fiddle to those other two, talent wise. And DWade is second fiddle to #6 in pure talent/ potential.. But the bad thing about Miami is that #6 will NEVER be number one and I think that will eat him up inside. Playing second to a player he knows he’s better than.. He went thinking that the three of them would all be loved and admired. But eventually the fans will turn on #6, especially if he inches closer to that 10 turnovers a game.
@7 and @9…..didn’t all three guys give themselves opt outs after 3 years? I think they all probably realized that one, two, or all of them might not be happy for the whole marriage. I think that opt out all but guarantees they’ll be together at least 3 years…if it isn’t working, they’ll go elsewhere.
All this being said, it’s obvious that the reason they struggled against Boston was a lack of continuity and experience playing together. Just like one win doesn’t make the Cavs the favorites to win the East, one loss doesn’t make the Heat a cellar dweller this year.
@12 – You’re correct. One win doesn’t crown anyone.
But, I think it’s important to look at the performance in Miami’s first game and see how it parallels to a lot of the performances we saw here. Watching that game I was just thinking “wow this looks exactly the same.” Despite how Lebron is being coached up it seems like he’s bound to do things his way in crunch time….how is that going to sit with Wade and Bosh? Miami will obviously win a bunch of games this year but there may be some real issues that come up in that system with those guys.
I think the most important thing about THIS Cavs team is that you have 15 full grown men who heard for the past 5 months that they aren’t anything special. They have been told by ESPN that they are the worst of the worst. That they should pray to finish with 20 wins. That they have been carried their entire careers. That they are no more than “role players” and bench players.
That is called bulletin board material.
The 3-year opt out is going to be the metaphorical anvil hanging over the head of the Heat franchise. The potential scenarios aren’t hard to imagine.
Just think…what if the Heat finish 4th in the East behind Boston and Orlando. Then, they lose in the first round to Chicago.
After that, the fiasco that surrounded the Cavs through the final year of LeBron’s contract will begin in full force. The pressure will be on in full force to win a championship in year two. The talk about LeBron “poisoning” the chemistry of the Heat will pop up. The fan base will rally around Wade.
LeBron will transition from the solution to the problem very quickly if the Heat don’t, at least, make it to the Eastern Finals.
Did I really just say “full force” not once, but TWICE in a single post. I apologize for my own toolishness.
@14 Matty – At the same time, it was pretty ridiculous last night, watching Allen, Pierce, and Garnett joining Rondo on the floor for the rest of the fourth quarter in a close game, and hoping that JJ, Sessions, and Booby would hold their own for the stretch run. Yeah, it worked out well, but that was an uneasy feeling for Cavs fans right there.
I keep saying this to everyone who will listen … I love Byron Scott! He is a great coach with Pat Riley motivational influence, a great understanding of the X’s and O’s, and a demeanor that commands respect.
With this collection of solid talent, he’ll be able to orchestrate an exciting season for Cavs fans … I’m guessing 40-something wins and we’ll compete in the playoffs. Is that so bad?
If Gibson missed 8 shots in a row for Mike Brown, he’d be on the bench for a month. I still think Mike got a bit of a raw deal here at the end, but I don’t miss that guy at all.
Byron Scott, on the other hand, is inspiring. Every time I hear an interview with him I want to strap on some Cons and run a layup drill.
Oh- and holy crap am I glad the Tom Izzo thing didn’t work out. What a flaming disaster that would have been.
Looking at the big picture, I think this team can make the playoffs. Sure we aren’t going to win 60 games, and we might not make it to the ECF, but minus one of the last 7 years, it’s no different.
Plus the last 10 games of the season will actually be good basketball to watch.
Caved and bought league pass last night and I’m glad I did at this point.
Love Byron Scott’s demeanor. He handles himself really well. Stays composed, gets a little pissed toward the players when he needs too, but (so far) doesn’t seem to pull the theatrics of a Van Gundy, Doc Rivers, or Phil Jackson.
Very excited for this year. I hope the attendance and energy at the Q remain the same as they were last night, all season long. The benefit of the Lebron period is that we’ve gotten to know these players and their personalities like never before, and I think we want to see all of these guys succeed because of that.
I don’t see the Lebron/Bosh/Wade drama happening. I think they’re all selfless enough and want those rings enough to let it go. Things will click, they’ll start winning, life will go on. One thing though: watching two Celtics games in two nights, I realized how strong their bench is. I don’t see how the Heat can compete with that this year.
The greatest difference between Mike Brown and Byron Scott: When Boston went on a run in the 3rd quarter, Scott called 2 timeouts to set up a new plan and kill the Celtics run. Brown would have let their run go for the whole quarter.
“The greatest difference between Mike Brown and Byron Scott: When Boston went on a run in the 3rd quarter, Scott called 2 timeouts to set up a new plan and kill the Celtics run. Brown would have let their run go for the whole quarter.”
Scott called a timeout in the first quarter when the score was 5-4 due to some unhappieness with level of play. That right there should tell the story.
[…] is not the first time we have heard Gibson praise his new head coach, which makes sense given that Byron Scott has heaped praise back on his veteran guard since being […]