Season Wrap-Up: MATTHEW DELLAVEDOVA

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Since his arrival with the Wine and Gold as an undrafted rookie, it’s hard to think of an NBA player who’s taken a more dramatic and inspirational journey than Matthew Dellavedova.

By now, most fans know the story.

Matthew Dellavedova – who grew up in a small town in Australia and later starred at St. Mary’s College – went undrafted in 2013. He signed with the Cavaliers as a free agent and after impressive performances in pre-Draft workouts and Summer League, Delly made the squad by earning time after Jarrett Jack suffered a preseason knee injury.

But the scrappy Dellavedova did more than just make the team in 2013-14. He saw action in 72 games. By the time the All-Star Break rolled around, Delly was a fixture in Cleveland’s rotation, averaging over 22 minutes a game over the last two months of the season.

Training Camp opened with an entirely new feel last year, however. The young squad that closed out the previous season 16 games under .500 had completely given way to a true Championship contender featuring a troika of superstars, led by the game’s greatest player.

Delly began the season as he ended the previous one – as Kyrie Irving’s backup. But he found himself buried under a deeper, more seasoned rotation early in the campaign and after seeing action in the first three games, picked up 15 straight DNPs. He returned to the rotation on December 8 against Brooklyn and found himself in the starting lineup against OKC two games later – notching 14 points against Russell Westbrook and the Thunder.

When Kyrie’s sore left knee kept him out of the lineup as the calendar turned to 2015, Dellavedova stepped in to start eight straight contests. And although he fared pretty well in that stretch, Delly’s true role was bringing his trademark tenacity off the bench. And that’s exactly what he did the rest of the way.

Delly started four games over the remainder of the campaign, but saw action in all of Cleveland’s remaining contests – helping the squad go 34-9 to close out the regular season. But when the regular season came to an end is when the “Legend of Delly” was born.

With Kyrie Irving making his spectacular playoff debut against the Celtics – averaging 28.0 ppg in the first two contests – Delly was very effective in his bench role, hitting both shots from the floor over that span and helping Cleveland contain Boston’s Isaiah Thomas.

Irving was just as good in the opener against Chicago, dropping 30 points in a home loss to the Bulls. But after already losing Kevin Love for the postseason, the injury bug began biting Kyrie, and he was severely limited in Game 2. In relief, Delly logged 35 minutes of action – pitching in with nine points and nine assists – as Cleveland evened the series with a 106-91 win.

Irving was again limited as the Cavaliers looked to clinch the Second Round series in Game 6 in Chicago. In his place, Delly came up huge – netting 19 points – going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and 7-of-11 overall – as the Cavaliers eliminated the Bulls with a three-touchdown victory at the United Center.

By the time the Cavs reached the Eastern Conference Finals, the nagging injuries had begun taking their toll on Irving and Dellavedova found himself logging major minutes against Atlanta – getting the start in Games 2 and 3.

In Game 2 at Philips Arena, while diving for a loose ball, Delly collided with Kyle Korver. The Hawks marksman suffered a high ankle sprain and was lost for the playoffs. The following night, again during a loose ball scrum, Dellavedova hit the floor – drawing the ire of Atlanta’s Al Horford, who dropped an elbow on Cleveland’s starting guard and was shown the exit.

As the short-handed Cavs continued their climb through the postseason, and through his performance on the floor – often, literally on the floor – the story behind Cleveland’s undrafted point guard continued to grow.

After sweeping the Hawks out of the ECF, the Cavaliers got an eight-day layoff before taking on the Warriors in the NBA Finals. Once again, Kyrie Irving gave it a go. But this time, in overtime of Cleveland’s Game 1 loss in Oakland, Irving fractured his left kneecap as was officially done for the playoffs.

Delly was once again pressed into service – but this time he’d be going up against the reigning MVP, Stephen Curry.

In Game 2, Delly got the start and was outstanding – especially on the defensive end of the floor, where he held Curry to 5-for-23 shooting as the Cavs evened the series at one game apiece following a heart-pounding OT win in Game 2. In Game 3, the Aussie’s legend hit folktale proportions when he went off for 20 points on 7-for-17 shooting and going 4-of-5 from the line as 20,000 strong at Quicken Loans Arena chanted his name every time he toed the stripe.

Once again, the Wine and Gold topped Golden State in dramatic fashion – taking an improbable 2-1 series lead. And even guys like LeBron’s old buddy, Chris Bosh, had bought into the rapidly-developing “Legend of Delly.”

But the clock eventually struck midnight on Delly and the undermanned Cavaliers against Golden State.

The Cavaliers went into a funk from the floor as a team and Delly was not immune – going just 5-for-26 from the field over the final three games of the series as the Warriors wrapped up their dream season with a 105-97 victory over Cleveland at The Q.

Matthew Dellavedova saved his best for last during the 2014-15 season – getting off to a slow start, in both the regular campaign and postseason, before finishing with a flurry. And after enduring some harsh and unfair criticism for most of the season, Delly got the last laugh in the postseason – where his value grew at the same pace as his playoff beard.

With Kyrie out for the night after starting Game 6 against Chicago, Delly filled the void – netting 11 of his team-high 19 points in the fourth quarter. The sophomore guard also did his usual stellar work on the defensive end – holding Derrick Rose and Aaron Brooks to a combined 18 points on 9-for-20 shooting.

“I think (Delly)'s unique in his own way,” praised LeBron James after the win. “Obviously he's a guy that's been counted out his whole life. 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.”

But Delly’s performance early in the NBA Finals is what made him a household name. After dropping Game 1, the Kyrie-less Cavaliers stole Game 2 in dramatic fashion. Dellavedova drilled a pair of free throws with 10.1 to play that gave the Cavaliers a one-point edge and on Golden State’s next possession, the Aussie guard blanketed Curry – whose 19-foot attempt traveled only 18 feet. LeBron snagged the airball with 5.5 to play and was fouled – splitting the pair to seal the deal.

In his second straight start of the Finals, Dellavedova went off for a playoff-high 20 points, going 7-for-17 from the floor to go with five boards and four assists as Cleveland took Game 3. In that nail-biter, Delly converted a sensational three-point play with 2:45 remaining after Curry had cut the Cavs’ 17-point lead to just one.

Although Dellavedova has put up some nice numbers during his brief career, his accomplishments will likely never be measured in the boxscore. In that respect, it’s impossible to criticize the man for not lighting up the stat sheet.

Delly exceeded expectations as a starter in the postseason, but that’s not a role he’s going to flourish in at the NBA level. During the regular season, the former St. Mary’s standout got 13 starts in relief of Irving and, despite a couple of strong showings, the squad was 2-11 in those contests.

In the postseason, the team’s mark improved to 4-3 with Delly in the starting lineup.

One thing Matthew Dellavedova will never be accused of is having low energy on the hardwood. At least part of the reason might be his love for coffee – something he developed in college at St. Mary’s which “definitely helped, senior year, to write some papers.”

According to the guard from Down Under: “I (drink) it before workouts and before lifting weights. And then, last season, I would get to the arena earlier in the day and work out – and I was getting kind of tired from the travel and needed a little pick-me-up. And I had a coffee before the game and just kept it going. So it just became part of the routine and so I’ve been doing it since early last year.

“I really enjoy drinking coffee. I don’t have one on gameday afternoon because I like taking a nap after shootaround. And I really enjoy the taste of coffee. I read an article once – a research article – that said having caffeine before athletic performance increases strength and mental focus and things like that.”

11.6 … Matthew Dellavedova’s scoring average over the last five home games of the 2015 postseason.

In 10 playoff games at The Q, Dellavedova averaged 8.4 ppg – 3.2 points higher than his regular season home scoring average.

Matthew Dellavedova ... when asked during the Finals if he thought HE was an annoying player …

"Well, I’ve never played against myself, so …"

Entering this year’s Training Camp, Dellavedova will have some competition at the backup point guard spot – with former Cavalier Mo Williams inking a free agent deal this summer to rejoin his old team.

But the beauty of Delly is that he’s never shrunk from the competition; just ask Kyrie Irving – who’s had some serious battles with his “Australian brother” at the Cleveland Clinic Courts.

Delly might not bring huge numbers to the Wine and Gold, but there’s no denying the effect he has on the squad. He also comes into his third season with Cleveland with a bounty of playoff experience at the highest level. He’ll figure out a way to fit into the rotation, and he’ll figure out a way to make a mess of the opponent’s offense when he hits the hardwood.

And when he does, the next chapters in the “Legend of Delly” will begin to be written …