NBA PM: From Undrafted to Postseason Hero

From Undrafted to Postseason Hero

Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Matthew Dellavedova has become one of the most polarizing players during the NBA playoffs this season.

His rise to fame didn’t seem all that likely just a few months ago. After all, this is a second-year player who has a career regular season average of just 4.7 points per game and an average playing time of 19 minutes per game. He fought his way onto the team after going undrafted in the 2013 draft and signed a two-year, $1.3 million deal.

But since the end of the regular season, Dellavedova has become a household name among basketball fans – for both good and bad reasons. Depending on what end of the spectrum you fall on, Dellavedova is either viewed as a “dirty” player or a hero. Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks fans would probably fall into the former category, while Cavaliers fans would clearly say he’s the latter.

He was involved in an altercation with Bulls forward Taj Gibson that resulted in Gibson getting ejected from Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Hawks, he collided with Kyle Korver in Game 2 while diving for a loose ball and appeared to fall on Korver’s ankle. Korver would eventually need season-ending surgery after suffering ligament damage in his ankle. Al Horford was ejected from Game 3 after the two were tangled up on a play and Horford appeared to deliver an intentional elbow to his head. While he didn’t land the blow to Dellavedova, the referees agreed that the move was worthy of a flagrant-two foul. Horford told reporters after the game that he felt Dellavedova went after him intentionally and reacted accordingly.

While Dellavedova has had his share of collisions and questionable plays, he’s also turned in some inspiring performances that have Cavaliers fans in awe of the 6’4 guard from Australia. After playing in a total of 43 minutes in a first-round sweep of the Boston Celtics, Dellavedova averaged 8.3 points against the Bulls and 9.5 points per game against the Hawks. He filled in for Kyrie Irving (after Irving left at halftime with a knee injury) in Game 6 against the Bulls and led the team in scoring with 19 points off of the bench. He chipped in 17 points in Game 3 against the Hawks to help the Cavs pull out a narrow 114-111 win. He’s found a number of ways to step up and provide the Cavs with the needed boost to help them win games. He’s a player every coach loves to have with his hustle and never-back-down mentality.

“He’s a guy that’s been counted out his whole life,” LeBron James said Sunday night following the Cavs’ Game 2 win over the Golden State Warriors. “Probably people have been telling him he’s too small, he’s not fast enough, can’t shoot it enough, can’t handle it good enough, and he’s beat the odds so many times. The confidence that we have in him allows him to be confident in himself. He goes out and he just plays his tail off, and when a guy like that does that, he gets great results.”

Dellavedova played in just nine minutes in Game 1, but he added another memorable performance to his postseason resume on Sunday night in Game 2. With Irving out for the rest of the season after suffering a broken kneecap in overtime of Game 1, Dellavedova earned the start in Game 2 and turned in perhaps one of the best performances of his young career.

Although he only scored nine points on 3-of-10 shooting from the field, his presence was felt largely on the defensive end as he matched up frequently on Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry and held Curry to one of his worst performances of the season. Curry finished the contest with 19 points (5-of-23 from the field), six rebounds and five assists while turning the ball over six times. According to ESPN, Curry scored no points on 0-of-8 shooting from the field and turned the ball over four times while being guarded by Dellavedova.

“It had everything to do with Delly,” James said of Curry’s struggles. “He just kept a body on Steph. He made Steph work. He was spectacular, man, defensively. We needed everything from him. When Steph shoots the ball, you just automatically think it’s going in because he shoots the ball so well. I mean, he stunned me on one in the fourth quarter where he just took an in‑and‑out dribble and raised for a three and he nailed it and that wasn’t on Delly. He just did a great job. Just trying to make it tough on Steph. That’s all you can do. You make it tough on him. You get a contest, and you live with the results, and I think Delly did that.”

Dellavedova was quick to deflect the spotlight from his defensive efforts to the job the coaching staff did to prepare the team, but it’s clear he’s earning the trust from his teammates and head coach.

“He did what he has been doing every time that we’ve put him in that position,” head coach David Blatt said. “He’s a courageous kid that plays right. There was a lot of nonsense swirling around about his style of play. I think anyone that really looks at him objectively and fairly recognizes someone that just plays hard, heartfelt and tough basketball.”

“I thought Delly did a great job picking Steph up, up the floor,” Iman Shumpert said. “He was extremely aggressive with Steph, and a lot of it had to do with Klay [Thompson] having it going and Steph wasn’t as aggressive. Also, Steph missed some shots that Delly contested the right way. We just have to continue to play solid defense, contest every shot and try and get the rebound.”

Dellavedova’s staggering defense on Curry in Game 2 was no fluke. As our own Jesse Blancarte pointed out earlier this week, the Cavaliers’ defense is much improved with Dellavedova in versus when Irving is playing. With Dellavedova in the lineup, the Cavs have given up 96.7 points per 100 possessions while they gave up 101.6 points per game to opponents when Irving plays. The offense does slip a bit without Irving in the lineup, but an improved defense has proved critical thus far against Golden State in the Finals.

It’s usually never a good thing when a team loses their All-Star starting point guard, but when the next man up can play and make an impact like Dellavedova has made, it could make for an interesting storyline should the Cavs win their first NBA championship. Dellavedova has handled all of the criticism thrown at him this postseason with class and isn’t letting it alter his preparation and playing style. It also helps when the best player on the planet is your teammate and has your back night in and night out.

NBA Says Refs Missed Some Calls in Game 2

It was announced on Monday that the referees in Game 2 of the Finals missed four calls, according to the league’s Last Two Minute Report.

Perhaps the biggest non-call on the report occurred with 1:37 left in overtime when Andre Iguodala hit LeBron James’ arm on his shot attempt. The result of the play was a shot-clock violation as the clock expired after James lost control of the ball.

The report also stated that there should have been a traveling violation called on James before that shot attempt after James moved his pivot foot.

“I know what happened throughout the course of the game, so nothing really goes through my mind [when hearing about the review],” James said Tuesday. “There’s nothing they can do about it at that point. It is what it is, and you just move on from it. I’m happy that we was able to come through with the win. That’s the only thing that matters.”

The first missed call on the report happened on the jump ball to open the overtime period as Draymond Green should have been whistled for making contact with Tristan Thompson’s arm that affected his ability to control the ball.

The report also detailed how Green should have been called for a foul with 45.4 seconds to go in the overtime period after replay showed he grabbed James’ shoulder on a jump ball that affected his ability to jump.

“I saw it,” Cavaliers head coach David Blatt said. “I’m not going to talk about that, obviously. The NBA is doing their work and their homework, and very qualified people are in charge of handling those issues. I’m going to let them handle it.”

There’s only so much players and coaches can say in these situations, otherwise they’ll be fined by the NBA.