INDEPENDENCE — Daniel “Boobie” Gibson took charge(s) Tuesday night against the Washington Wizards.

Not only did Gibson score 14 points and make 4-of-5 shots from behind the 3-point line, he also drew a pair of offensive fouls from the Wizards, including one where he got plowed over by Andray Blatche.

“You’ve got to be a tough-minded person to stand in a guy’s way and take a hit like that,” Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said Wednesday at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “That’s what he does.”

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Gibson hasn’t mastered the theatrics of teammate Anderson Varejao, but right now he looks like a threat to the power forward’s perennial team lead in charges taken.

“I talked to him about that today,” Gibson joked. “He’s going to have to step his charge game up.”

Coming off a bad 2008-09 season in which he averaged 7.8 points and shot a career-low .382 from beyond the arc, Gibson knew he had to step up his game in every area.

It’s only five games into the season, but so far the 23-year-old has done that, as he’s averaging 8.4 points in 23.6 minutes a night. Gibson is shooting .438 from the field (14-of-32), including .522 on 3-pointers (12-of-23). Ironically, the University of Texas product is just 2-of-6 at the line, with a number of his misses coming after technical fouls.

“I always felt like, no matter how many shots I missed, the next one was going in,” Gibson said of his struggles last season, which were caused, in part, by a sore big toe. “I started being so inconsistent with the way I shot the ball. It affects you.

“It was very frustrating,” he added. “I’m not a guy who’s going to talk about it or mention it. I just try to get in the gym and get better.”

Gibson got a lot of decent looks last season with LeBron James and Mo Williams on the floor, but now that Shaquille O’Neal is drawing double-teams in the low post, he’s getting even more.

“It’s a combination of everything,” the fourth-year pro said. “With Shaq, you get a lot more open shots. It’s the same shots I’ve always got with LeBron and Mo, but it’s a combination of me being back 100 percent and putting in the time and me getting open looks.”

Though the Cavaliers continue to praise Gibson’s improved ballhandling and ability to drive and create, he still has a long way to go in those areas. In fact, Cleveland coaches and players would probably be satisfied if he continued to be a 3-point specialist offensively, especially if his once very weak defense continues to improve.

“He’s one of our better defenders, especially off the ball,” Brown said. “He knows what his assignments are, and he does them fearlessly. He’s tough. … He’s not afraid to stick his nose into anything.”

Gibson, who frequently comes off as cocky on the court, even when he’s struggling, was a willing defender his first three seasons in the league. However, he often got overpowered by opposing guards, who frequently muscled their way to the hoop against him.

That is still likely to happen from time to time, but Gibson showed against the Wizards that he’s capable of being a good one-on-one defender. He helped hold Gilbert Arenas, who entered the game averaging 28.0 points, to 2-of-8 shooting in the second half.

“You’re not going to stop a guy like Gilbert Arenas,” Brown said. “You just want to make a guy like that work. I thought he did a solid job of making Gilbert work.”

Gibson not only made Arenas work, he also, once again,Chro worked hard at both ends of the floor, which has been crucial to the Cavaliers with starting shooting guard Anthony Parker hitting just .333 from the field (16-of-48) and Delonte West still coping with off-court issues.

“Gil’s a big-time player and a big-time scorer,” Gibson said. “He’s somebody that if you want to guard, you have to take on the challenge of guarding him. We did a great job, by committee, of knowing what he wanted to do and trying to take it away from him.”

It’s no secret that opponents will try to limit Gibson’s open looks from beyond the arc, but on a team that features James, O’Neal and Williams, they have to give up something. The Wizards, who are weak on the interior, chose to challenge Gibson, but he made them pay.

“He got some good looks and didn’t hesitate to step up and shoot the ball,” Brown said.

“You can see the maturity he has gained on the floor. It’s translated into him doing some nice things for us.”

The key for Gibson, who has always shown flashes, is to be able to find ways to contribute on nights when his 3-point shot is not falling.

That’s where taking charge(s) comes into play.

“I can’t get up and block those shots like LeBron and those guys do,” he said. “I’ve got to try to get them before they come off the ground.”

Tonight

• Who: Cleveland vs. Chicago
• Time: 8
• Where: The Q
• TV/radio: TNT; WEOL 930-AM, WTAM 1100-AM

Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4061 or rickn@ohio.net.

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