T.I. Film festival series: Part 1- Taj Gibson
By Gideon Lim
Fire in the hole:
Taj Gibson’s best moments of the season start with a miracle shot.
Just as the commentator pointed out Blazers guard Pat Connaughton’s background used to be a pitcher, Gibson found himself with the ball with 2 seconds left on the clock.
In those situations, players sometimes delay getting a shot off to preserve their long-range percentages. Instead, Gibson selflessly flung the ball up and it sailed perfectly into the cup. Connaughton’s dejected slump at the end of the clip in front of Blazer fans only makes this moment more iconic.
Take a bow, Taj. Even Dude Perfect would be proud.
Houston had a problem:
The game against Houston in the playoffs was by far Taj Gibson’s best game of the season. The Thunder probably would not have stood a chance without Gibson that night. In fact, that game probably served as his clinching argument for why Presti should trade Enes Kanter, let Roberson walk and re-sign him instead.
For starters, Gibson played well because he was aggressive.
As mentioned earlier, this aspect of his play was probably what the Thunder needed from him the most. Against the Rockets, with the Thunder staring at a 3-0 hole, Gibson stepped right up. Post-ups, getting out on transition, mid-range jumpers, converting dump-offs. Gibson did just about everything he could do on offense.
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More importantly, he did all of them without hesitation. In his time with the Thunder during the regular season, Gibson averaged 7.8 field goal attempts per night. That night, OKC Thunder struggled for offense as Steven Adams and Oladipo combined for a meager 7 buckets. Up stepped Gibson. He pumped in 13 shots that night to the tune of 76.9% efficiency. Talk about leading by example.
But, Gibson’s contributions go beyond his stat line. Check out this gif:
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During one Rockets possession, Ryan Anderson expertly screened Roberson out of the picture before pulling out to the perimeter. Gibson had no choice but to switch onto one of the league’s best isolation scorers. James Harden duly obliged to the dance and called for the isolation play.
Turn up for defense:
Instead of getting carved up into a meme the way the way Kanter did in Game 1, Gibson more than held his own. There were times that night when Anderson got Gibson flying by on close-outs. But, when it mattered most, Gibson hustled down and embraced the challenge without calling for a double team.
The screen grab shows Gibson matching Harden’s footwork perfectly, sliding along to stay parallel while still keeping his hands out. The play ended off with the home crowd erupting in cheers. Harden choked up an air ball, the Thunder got out in transition and Gibson dunked the ball home to extend the Thunder’s lead.
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All night long, Gibson and Roberson formed a paralyzing defensive duo. The Rockets could no longer screen Harden with one of their bigs and expect an easy basket because both Gibson and Roberson were ready for an isolation against Harden.
That night, despite almost never seeing time at the 5 spot during the regular season, Billy Donovan deemed Gibson was effective enough on pick-and-rolls to warrant sitting Adams and sticking with Gibson at the 5.
The game was a magnificent showing from the Taj. Gibson formed the bedrock for the Thunder’s win, and gave Sabonis a proper clinic on effective aggressiveness.
Full-blooded A+ for the man.