By Marc D'Amico
Celtics.com
July 10, 2012
Jonathan Gibson lit up the nets - and the Nets - Tuesday night with his fourth-quarter shooting display.
Fernando Medina/Boston Celtics
ORLANDO, Fla. – Jonathan Gibson was unconscious Tuesday evening against the Brooklyn Nets, and maybe that’s because he has no conscience.
The speedy guard out of New Mexico State University was the sparkplug that brought the Celtics back from a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter and led the team to a nine-point win. In the midst of leading the C’s to victory, Gibson displayed an unparalleled level of confidence in his shot.
To put it simply, he attempted some shots that would almost always be considered ‘bad shots.’ But they’re not bad shots when Gibson takes them, because he makes them.
Gibson scored 15 points all by himself in the money quarter, and only the four free throws that he made in the frame came in simple fashion. He nailed all four of his field goal attempts in the quarter, yet none of them came from inside 20 feet. In fact, three of them came from downtown - way downtown – despite the fact that his defender was shadowing him.
Shadow Gibson all you want. That’s not enough. For him to pass on a shot, his defender would need to be on top of him, holding his arms down to his side and kicking the ball away in the opposite direction.
“You go into the screen, give me a little space, and I’ll knock it down,” Gibson said confidently following the victory.
When he says “a little space,” he means it. Gibson only took seven shots during Tuesday’s 82-73 victory over the Nets, but several of them were the type that would make a coach yell, “NOOO!!!" as the shot leaves the player's hand, and then, " YESSSS!!!!” when it falls in. Luckily for Gibson, those screams ended in a ‘yes’ on five of his seven attempts.
The man who was likely yelling those words out from the sideline was Tyronn Lue, who is the head coach of Boston’s summer league team. Gibson struggled during Monday’s contest, as he shot 0-for-5 from the floor, but Lue did everything he could to encourage the youngster to continue firing up his shots when he sees daylight.
“I told him, ‘Just attack. Be aggressive. If you miss, we’ll get you back,’ “ said Lue. “But he won this game for us tonight, coming in in the fourth quarter. He had 17 points in 14 minutes.”
You read that correctly – 17 points in 14 minutes. There isn’t a guy in the NBA who scores with that type of efficiency on a consistent basis. Gibson, however, was able to do it on Tuesday.
Here’s newsflash to the guards on the Pacers, Pistons and Magic, whom the Celtics will take on over the next three days: Beware of Gibson when the ball is in his hands. He does not have an offensive conscience, and he may knock you unconscious with his red-hot shooting touch, much the way he did to the Nets Tuesday evening.