By MAUREEN FULTON
Toledo Blade
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
The 2006 NBA draft might have had more accomplished players than second-round pick Daniel Gibson. But no rookie has had more impact this postseason than the man who as a child was nicknamed Boobie by his mother.
In Game 6 that clinched the Eastern Conference finals, Gibson capped a breakout series with 31 points, 19 in the fourth quarter. He made all five of his 3-point attempts and put on a similar show to LeBron James' Game 5 heroics, in one stretch scoring 20 of the Cavaliers' 24 points.
"I was wowing Daniel like I was on LeBron," coach Mike Brown said.
Gibson (and his nickname) has become an overnight sensation. It's not likely to stop once the Cavs arrive in Texas. Gibson is from Houston, about three hours from San Antonio, where the Cavs will play Game 1 Thursday in their first-ever NBA finals.
For three straight games in Cleveland, Gibson accompanied James to the pos-game press conference.
In Game 3 it wasn't his scoring totals, but rather his clutch defense in the fourth quarter that grabbed attention. In Game 4, Gibson scored what was then a career-high 21 points, including making all 12 of his foul shots.
Gibson's 31 points in Game 6 were the most in a clinching series win since Magic Johnson had 42 in the game that won the Lakers the 1980 NBA title. But where Johnson was a star when he entered the league, most casual NBA fans hadn't heard of Gibson until a few weeks ago.
"'Boobie' is unbelievable, what he's done, how he's grown," James said.
Gibson averaged 14 points in two seasons at the University of Texas and made nearly 39 percent of his 3-pointers. He declared for the draft after his sophomore season, which some thought was a mistake.
Gibson pulled another unconventional move when he refused to work out for any other team before the draft after meeting with the Cavs. He saw that the Cavs had a weak backcourt the previous season and it would be a place where he could fit in and contribute.
The Cavs took somewhat of a gamble, waiting to get him with their 42nd pick, but because almost no other team had seen him, he slipped down to them.
Something that has helped Gibson more than anything is James' confidence in him. James has called him his "little brother" and has been singing his praises since the preseason.
"From day one, LeBron has been in my corner," Gibson said. "He told me from day one he was going to make me something special."
"When we got Daniel in the second round, I believe it was a blessing in disguise," James said. "I believe we got a steal. I just knew how good of a basketball player he could be once I saw his work ethic during practice, after practice, before practice.
"I get to the gym early, he's there before me, we're shooting after practice every single day, and I just saw his drive and his passion."
At the end of January, Brown inserted Gibson into the starting lineup at point guard, replacing Eric Snow. He started 16 games before injuring his big toe and missing three weeks. Larry Hughes then took over at the point.
Since returning from his injury, Gibson has provided some scoring punch off the bench.
At times James said he took inspiration from Gibson during the regular season.
"One day we had a sit-around in the locker room when we were struggling and Daniel said, 'Man, if every guy in this locker room just plays as hard as I want to play on this basketball court, we're going to be something special,'" James said. "For a rookie, a guy that is really not even supposed to say something, I remembered what he was talking about, and I stayed on him from there."
The Pistons showed Gibson little respect even after two double-digit scoring performances in Games 4 and 5, which led to his biggest outburst in Game 6.
Gibson expects San Antonio to pay more attention to him, but he doesn't think he'll have to change his game.
"Just continue to be aggressive, continue to take my shots when they're there," Gibson said. "I know they are a great team, and they're going to give me everything I could ask for."
Gibson has given the Cavs that, and much more.
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