CLEVELAND: An abundance of riches is usually a good thing — unless you’re Cavaliers coach Mike Brown.

The Cavs touted their depth from positions 1-14 to open the season, to a good bit of skepticism. Now that depth has shown its worth, but will ultimately require a tough decision on Brown’s part.

The player involved: Daniel Gibson, the backup point guard who’s been best known for his 3-point shot since donning a Cavs uniform.

”Obviously, it’s a blessing. I feel lucky and great to be able to have choices, but at the same time, having this much depth can be tough on you as a coach,” Brown said.

Gibson worked on other aspects of his game, including being more aggressive going to the basket. For the most part, that’s shown in his game. He’s been invaluable in that role since guards Mo Williams and Delonte West went down.

”He’s a capable player — more than a capable player — and he’s gotten better every year,” Brown said. ”The hardest conversation I ever had was when I had to sit him down and tell him I was going to play big,” Brown said.

Brown is known for wanting to play big players whenever possible, especially on the perimeter. With forward Jawad Williams coming on in recent weeks, Gibson was the odd man out. But in recent games, Gibson has proven his worth to the Cavs with his teammates absent, averaging 13.6 points in the past six games.

”Now you can’t just sit on his shot anymore. If you sit on his shot, he’s going by you and he’s going to finish at that rim,” Brown said.

That makes Brown’s job more difficult when both of his guards return. While Gibson will still likely get a decent amount of playing time when West returns, when Mo Williams returns he could be looking at the same situation.

But will Brown have that conversation again?

”I don’t know,” he said.

No start this time

Gibson did not start Thursday night’s game and did not arrive at Quicken Loans Arena until the second quarter in order to be with his fiancee, singer Keyshia Cole, who is pregnant with Gibson’s child. Cole was hospitalized for precautionary reasons.

LeBron James started at point guard and Cleveland native Jawad Williams got his first career start. Rookie guard Danny Green was expected to see extended playing time, too.

Buzzer beaters

James became the first player since Kevin Garnett in the 2003-04 season to win the player of the month three consecutive months in a season. James has won the award five months consecutively going back to last season. . . . The Cavs went into Thursday night’s game with the second-best record in franchise history after 50 games.

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