D-Gib

Amidst all the Mike Biddy talk, we got to thinking about the current status of the Cavaliers Point Guard situation. The man here at the left is Daniel Boobie Gibson. As all reading this well know, Boobie had a break out playoffs last year after a solid season that was plagued with a little of the injury bug. But the question must be addressed, is Boobie the guy for the job? Now initially many, us included, thought the playoffs were a case of a young guy who did not know any better coming in with a hot hand against an opponent who has a pretty serious habit of disrespecting opponents that they do not feel are up to their standards (worked out well for them). But Boobie showed a ton over the course of the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals, highlighted by his 31 point barrage on nine shots in game 6 against the Pistons. His efficiency throughout the biggest games in Cavalier's history was incredible. The way he reacted when the Pistons woke up and started running him off the 3 point line by consistently getting to the line and putting their bigs in foul trouble pointed to the maturity of a seasoned pro, not willing to force what he is known for. Taking what the defense gives you is probably the hardest thing for a young basketball player to do, and Boobie did it better than the vast majority of veterans in the Association could do. And he appears to be continuing to play well and efficiently as shown in his Summer League performance of 16 points on his first 6 shots, in spite of a sprained ankle and a cut under his eye.

We believe that the main issue with Boobie will ultimately be his ability guard. He was exploited to a certain extent in both the final two series last year with Billups' size and strength in the post and Tony Parker's quickness and ability to get into the heart of the Cavs' defense whenever he so chose. This is something that Mike Brown (the fact that he makes decisions here is a disturbing thought to be addressed separately) has made abundantly clear, especially in the case of Sasha, that to play for the Cavs you have to guard. This is something Boobie will have to deal with and work on if he hopes to be the type of player who plays in ALL situations.

All that being said, you go get Mike Bibby if you can, even if you have to give up Drew, the only guy on the Cavs to earn a pay check in the Finals last year. But if the Bibby talks fall apart again, we think you give the kid a chance. The Cavs are saddled with E-Snow's contract, so you utilize him in tough defensive situations if that is really the one issue (even though we are not convinced Snow is that good a defender any more) and then you let the young fella run the team. LeBron loves him and he loves being firmly within LeBron's shadow. Don't go locking up more money in an average pg that might help out, especially with the free agent list that seems to be more and more likely in 2008. We here at the search believe you hand over the keys to Boobie, especially with LeBron in the passenger seat with a Driver's Ed style break pedal to bail him out if he gets in trouble.