Dellavedova gives Cavs ‘that little edge’ in Game 2 with defense, winning FTs
OAKLAND, Calif. — In the immediate aftermath of Thursday’s NBA Finals Game 1 loss to the Golden State Warriors and the season-ending knee injury suffered by Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Kyrie Irving, LeBron James stated that his team would have to rely on the “next man up” to help them compete over the rest of the series.
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The trouble with that approach appeared to be that the Cavs didn’t have anyone to fill such a glaring hole in the lineup. They lost Game 1’s bench scoring battle 34-9 and relied on James and Irving for nearly all their shot creation, raising questions as to exactly how much more LeBron could do and where Cleveland could get the extra performances necessary to grab a win at Oracle Arena, if anywhere. For that matter, Matthew Dellavedova, Irving’s replacement in the starting lineup, played just nine minutes in the opener with no shot attempts, three assists, and one rebound.
Dellavedova struggled offensively in Sunday’s Game 2 with nine points (3-of-10 FG, 1-of-6 3FG), one assist, and six turnovers. He will never remind anyone of Irving.
Yet his activity and quality defense were essential to Cleveland’s first-ever NBA Finals victory. Reigning NBA MVP Stephen Curry misfired consistently with 5-of-23 shooting from the field (and 2-of-15 from deep), but Dellavedova was especially pesky in holding him to 0-of-8 shooting (including 0-of-5 from the three-point line) with four turnovers while the two were matched up. The 24-year-old Australian also logged a plus-15 in 42 minutes.
Despite his increased role and game-changing play, Dellavedova did not make any big changes in his preparation from Game 1 to Game 2. In fact, the largest shift was pretty straightforward.
“I just tried to make sure I was really hydrated,” he said. “That was probably the main thing.”
Whether due to fluid intake or not, Dellavedova’s contribution took on added significance after his involvement in several opposing ejections and injuries, which inspired debates over perceived dirty play. His Cavaliers coaches and teammates responded to every discussion of the topic by explaining such incidents as accidental byproducts of Dellavedova’s fierce competitive nature, and his play on Sunday certainly fell in line with that argument. Even when not especially effective, Dellavedova played with abandon and made several game-changing plays via an excess of effort.
The most notable by far was his offensive rebound that forced a foul and sent him to the line for the game-winning free throws with 10 seconds remaining in regulation:
Dellavedova had several other similar plays that didn’t end quite so well for the Cavaliers, but this triumphant moment came out of that same process. It’s a wrongheaded cliche to prize grit over historically spectacular talent, and it’s therefore hard to give Dellavedova too much credit for this win when LeBron James put up 39 points, 16 rebounds, and 11 assists while controlling the game for all but a few of his 50 minutes. However, with Cleveland holding significantly less depth than Golden State and a relatively weak supporting cast around James, the team knows that its best hope of winning this series is to slow the pace and grind out possessions at both ends.
“If you’re looking for us to play sexy, cute basketball, then that’s not us,” said LeBron. “That’s not us right now. Everything is tough.”
No other Cavalier takes to that mindset as readily as Dellavedova, undrafted out of nearby St. Mary’s two years ago and an afterthought in preseason assessments of a loaded roster. He carved out a spot in the rotation as an irritant and hustle player and has stepped up to the challenge with Irving limited by injuries throughout the postseason. While his offensive production has been intermittent at best, Dellavedova has impressed as a spot-up shooter and hit several big shots in crunch time. Although he was responsible for some key late turnovers in Game 2 as the Warriors forced overtime, nine of his 10 points came after the third quarter.
Major buckets aside, it’s Dellavedova’s defense that is most likely to shift three more games in the Cavs’ favor. Curry understandably chalked up his awful shooting on Sunday to fixable personal mistakes, but he was complimentary of his counterpart. What did Dellavedova do to frustrate the best shooter in the game?
“Nothing really just besides playing their game plan and playing defense like every pro is supposed to,” said Curry. “Not giving up on any possession.”
Members of the Cavs were much more effusive in their praise.
“It had everything to do with Delly,” said LeBron. “He just kept a body on Steph. He made Steph work.”
Dellavedova’s ability to keep Curry off balance will loom large in Game 3 and beyond. Although the Warriors feature many capable scorers and excellent ball movement, Curry’s tendency to take and make shots from anywhere at any time is the one thing that opposing defenses most struggle to stop. Short of blind luck and perhaps prayer, moment-to-moment disruption has been the most effective tool in stopping him throughout this postseason. The Memphis Grizzlies provided the blueprint in their wins in Games 2 and 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals, and the Cavaliers understand that they will have to match that effort to capture the franchise’s first title.
“Everybody has to be alert the whole game because if you lose him for a second, he’s going to get a good look,” said Dellavedova. “Even if you play good defense, he’s going to hit some tough shots, so you’ve just to got to keep defending him and just make it as hard as possible.”
It’s a team effort that now starts with Dellavedova. As long as LeBron continues to play beyond even his own high standards, the Cavaliers can help make up their apparent talent deficit by piling up those brief, sometimes imperceptible moments of success. Dellavedova contributes by doing exactly that.
“He will not let you push him around,” said forward Tristan Thompson. “That’s what you need from guys from your team to get that little edge.”
Constructed as a super-team, Cleveland now must rely on role players to support LeBron with those minor victories. As the Dellavedova showed on Sunday, enough of those small moments can multiply to make an outsized impact.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
