Daniel Gafford’s 21-point performance a few weeks ago will love forever in my mind for two reasons. Reason one: it was frickin’ 21 points for a rookie who had done nothing but score zero points/get DNPs for the first 15 games of his career. Reason two: it was against the Bucks, and why do scrubs always go off on us? I was so mad.
He hasn’t lived up to that performance in the games since then, but anyone who thought that he would was deluding themselves. If he got enough minutes and touches, sure, he could match or surpass it without too much difficulty. But it’s obvious that Jim Boylen hates him and doesn’t want him to succeed, and in a situation like that (where he is hated by the very man who dictates when and how much he plays), Gafford isn’t going to be putting up stats like he could be.
This game was pretty good, though, 14 points while Boylen hung on his arms, attempt to drag him back into the mud pits he (Boylen) was born in. Gafford jumps so easily that it didn’t matter that he had a fat dude trying to hold him down. He got his chances at the bucket tonight, and he took them. Not to mention the ferocity with which he blocked shots. You can tell he’s frustrated at something… or someone.