Showing posts with label Rajon Rondo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rajon Rondo. Show all posts

Saturday, December 18, 2010

LeBron James and Dan Gilbert Part II

This is an excerpt from an article written by Howard Bryant of ESPN.com:

Last week I wrote a column suggesting that Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert needs to take some responsibility for the current state of his franchise and his role in the events that led to LeBron James' departure instead of blaming James entirely for what has transpired with the Cavs over the last six months.

For the record, I am not particularly enamored of James, on or off the court. If he is the greatest physical talent to enter the game since Wilt Chamberlain, he is also a difficult offensive player to admire. He is a scorer, not a shooter, and yet he has an ongoing love affair with an erratic, unattractive jump shot. James has improved his shooting percentage since his rookie season but not necessarily his overall game -- not in the mold of Magic Johnson (who entered the league with a poor outside shot but left a competent 3-point shooter), Larry Bird (who developed a devastating low-post game late in his career), Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant (both entered the NBA as dunkers but could soon score 30 points a night on jump shots).
He's very good, but there are arguments to make that LeBron James isn't as good as he could be.
He presents a mismatch for virtually every defender in the league, but despite a 6-foot-8, 260-pound frame he has no low post game and after nearly a decade in the league seems to have little interest in developing one.

On offense, he does not move without the ball and is not a threat unless he is initiating the action from the top of the key. When he is not handling the basketball, he often stands languid on the wing and does not draw defenses with movement or pressure them with positioning. In the midst of his eighth season in the league, James has never been a presence on the offensive or defensive boards, which is a must for a great player. His offensive and overall rebounding averages have dropped over the last three years -- 1.2 offensive rebounds per game for his career shouldn't wow anyone. In fact, Rajon Rondo, who is seven inches shorter and 100 pounds lighter, is developing into a better offensive rebounder than James - the numbers back that up -- and, for his size, Rondo is far more competent on the defensive end.

For all of his physical gifts, James has yet to find players who complement his game over the course of a full season and vice versa -- Allen Iverson-like.

Of all active players compared to James in their primes (of course, at 25, James might not yet be in his prime, depending on one's measure), I would select him for my team no higher than fifth, behind Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan and Dwyane Wade. At present, James isn't even the best player on his own team.
And yet, James is a hugely-significant figure in the NBA and sports world today for what he represents. He is the first mega-athlete to emerge in the 24/7 multimedia age that has been able to successfully navigate and capitalize on the shifting power dynamics that come with it. He is the perfect storm of 20th century battles: player freedom and control; free agency; the bypassing of the college game (those players were once called "hardship" cases); and the athlete as a corporation backed by a bigger one -- in LeBron's case, Nike.

Other modern athletes, including Tiger Woods and Jordan, have straddled varying elements of change during their times. No one has enjoyed the benefit of each of those developments in his prime as James has.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Top 20 Cleveland Cavaliers: #13 Daniel Gibson

The 13th greatest Cavalier of all-time is without a doubt, Daniel “Boobie” Gibson. The epitome of an NBA stud who doesn’t get enough playing time, Daniel has had a huge impact on the Cavaliers organization, and has always been a fan-favorite.

Gibson grew up in Texas, where he excelled at Jones High School. Averaging 25.5 points per game, he led his team to a 31-5 record, and won the Texas 4A State Championships his senior year. Daniel chose to continue his career with the Texas Longhorns, but he wouldn’t be there long. In the two seasons he played, he scored 935 points, and made 175 three pointers. In his sophomore season, he dropped nine 3’s in a game against Baylor, a Texas record.

On June 7th 2006, Boobie decided he would enter the NBA draft, and forgo his two years remaining of college eligibility. 22 days later, the Cavaliers drafted Daniel in the second round with the 42nd overall pick. Following a pre-draft workout with the Cavs in 2006, he cancelled all remaining workouts with any other teams and refused to work out for them prior to the draft. This potentially was the reason he fell to the 2nd round. He joined a Cleveland backcourt that that was dead last in scoring in the NBA.  That was about to change.

Mike Brown gave Gibson his first start in January of 2007 against the Golden State Warriors. Only 20 years old, he would start 15 more games for the Cavaliers that season. He shot 42% from behind the 3 point line, which led all rookies.  LeBron was 31% on the year.. ouch.

Daniel represented the Cavaliers on the Sophmore-squad in the 2008 Rookie vs. Sophmore challenge.  On a team with Rajon Rondo, Rudy Gay, and Brandon Roy, playing against the likes of Kevin Durant and Al Horford.. Gibson was clearly the best player on the court.  Daniel shattered a record  by draining 11 three pointer's.  He scored 33 points, and brought home the MVP trophy.  Boobie and Zydrunas are the only Cavaliers to take home this award in the Rookie/Sophmore challenge.

 In the 2007 playoffs, he made a name for himself vs. the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.  In Game 3 he came up big with 9 points and an important steal from Tayshaun Prince late in the 4th quarter. He followed that up with 21 points in Game 4, which came from only 7 field goal attempts. We all know what LeBron did taking over in Game 5. But Game 6 was Daniel Gibson’s turn to shine. He dropped a career high 31 points, including 19 in the fourth quarter.

He helped the Cavaliers become only the third team in NBA history to win a best-of-seven conference final after losing the first two games of the series. Not to mention, he helped propel the Cavs to their first ever NBA finals.

Daniel Gibson is an important piece to the Cavaliers franchise. Although he has seen a significant decrease in playing time over the last several years, he still remains a fan favorite. Gibson is known for having unique designs cut into his hair, and it does a pretty good job of separating him from the crowd. Oh, and he’s dating Keyshia Cole.

I’m still not sure why Mike Brown basically delegated him to the bench this year. Extremely frustrating. Brown probably viewed Gibson’s size as hindrance to the team’s defense, but that’s just ignorant. Danny Ferry was even quoted as saying, “Daniel Gibson is the best defensive guard on the team.”

Whomever the Cavaliers coach might be next year, he should take advantage of all the things that Gibson brings to the table. (Apparently it won’t be Tom Izzo) Let’s just hope he gets back into the rotation, and knocks down the countless 3’s that we all know he can hit. "Shoot it Boobie, Shoot it". You gotta love this guy.  LeBron certainly does.  Daniel “Boobie” Gibson is Underrated